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All About Northfield 



A BRIEF HISTORY AND GUIDE 



BY 



Arthur Percy Fitt 

Author of "The Shorter Life of D. L. Moody," etc. 



NortI|ftfl^, iHaaaarljiiHPtta 



Oj 



VA 



F74- 



Copyright, 1910, by 

A. P. FITT. 



CC!.A2f9594 



PREFACE 



NORTHFIELD has a future, but it also has a 
past. Its past is fuller of adventure and 
romance than that of most towns in America, 
since Northfield was for a century an outpost of 
civilization and the northerly base of operations 
against the Indians and the French. Once, twice, 
the hardy pioneers pushed their way up the Connec- 
ticut valley and staked out their homesteads, only 
to be driven back by the sweep of savage war. Not 
until the third attempt was a permanent but long 
precarious settlement effected. The early pages 
of its history were frequently stained with the 
blood of the pioneers. 

To keep alive the memory of those stirring days 
in the minds of the rising generation and the more 
recent residents, and to place information about 
Northfield as it is today in the hands of the in- 
creasing nimibers of annual visitors, is the object of 
this history and guide. 

A detailed record of its history and biography, and 
of the gradual growth of the town, has been given, 
once for all, in a volume that was issued in 1875, 
entitled : "History of the Town of Northfield, Mas- 
sachusetts, for 150 Years, with an Account of the 
prior occupation of the territory of the Squakheags, 
and with Family Genealogies : by J. H. Temple and 
George Sheldon." With well-directed skill and 
painstaking care the authors of that volume ex- 
tracted the treasures they desired from town, 
church and county records, state archives, family 
Bibles and papers, historical narratives, inscrip- 
tions on gravestones, statements by aged people, 
tradition — every available source of reliable infor- 
mation as to facts, dates, names and descriptions. 
Published by subscription over a generation ago, 
copies are now very rare. I have draw^n freely upon 



6 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

that "History'' for information up to its date of 
publication. Old-time matter that is printed within 
quotation marks is usually derived from that inter- 
esting and valuable book. 

As a guide, this volume aims to set forth objects 
of beauty and interest in and around Northfield of 
today, locating matters of historic information 
where they belong and directing attention to such 
traces as still remain of early events. 

Some observations by the author are postponed 
to the ''Afterword." 

The blank pages at the end will serve for making 
notes or pasting in clippings and illustrations relating 
to the subject of this volume. 

Thanks are due to many for kindly assistance in 
different ways in the preparation of this book, and 
especially to Mr. Henry W. Rankin, for encourage- 
ment and suggestion in the face of considerable dif- 
fidence about undertaking the task; to Mr. Charles 
H. Webster for permission to photograph the 
original deed made with the Indians (reproduced 
as the frontispiece), and for a list of minerals he has 
traced in Northfield ; to Miss Ellen C. Wood for a 
corresponding list of birds ; and to Mr. Charles C. 
Stearns for reading and supplying many details in 
the manuscript. A. P. F. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Topography 11 

Boundaries and Dimensions — Divisions — Rivers and 
Streams — Mountains and Hills — Meadows and 
Plains — Elevations: 

History Retold 25 

Indian Occupation — Earliest Explorations by the 
English — First Settlement of Squakheag, 1672 — 
Peace Disturbed, 1675 — Indian Occupation Resumed 
— Second Settlement, 1682-90 — Interim of Twenty- 
four Years, 1690-1714 — Third and Permanent Settle- 
ment, 1714— Father Ralle's War, 1722-25— Peace and 
Progress, 1726-44 — Old French and Indian War, 
1744-49— Last French and Indian War, 1754-63— 
War of the Revolution — Independence and Recon- 
struction — Population and Vital Statistics — Massa- 
chusetts Decennial Census of 1905. 

Northfield's Greatest Son — D. L. Moody .... 55 

The Northfield Schools 62 

Northfield Seminary — Mount Hermon School. 

The Northfield Conferences Id 

General Conference for Christian Workers — Stu- 
dent Conference for Men — Camp Xorthheld. 

Up Main Street 81 

Walks and Drives about Northfield Ill 

King Philip's Flill — Mount Hermon School via Ben- 
nett's Meadow Bridge, Schell Bridge or Munn's 
Ferry — Beers' Massacre Memorial — River Drive and 
French King — Millers Falls — Hermit Rock and 
Erving — Greenfield via Bernardston or Gill — Stough- 
ton's Bird Track Quarry — Poet's Seat — Turners 
Falls — Deerfield — Huckle Hill and Vernon — Bear's 
Den and Wild Cat Mountain — Hell's Back Kitchen — 
Louisiana Mountain — Hog Back — Pivot Rock — 
Lovers' Retreat — Pulpit Rock — Winchester, N. H. — 
Forest Lake — Hinsdale, N. FI. — Ashuelot River 
Drive — Chesterfield and Spofford Lake, N. H. — 
Pisgah Primeval Forest — Three-States Point — Ver- 
non Dam — Brattleboro, Vt. — Mount Wantastiquet — 
Ice Cave and Rattlesnake Den — Ober's Lookout — 
Crag Mountain — Warwick, Mass. — Alount Grace — 
Warwick and Winchester Drive — Mount Monad- 
nock — Summarv of Distances. 



8 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 



PAGE 

Birds of Xorthfield 140 

MixERALS OF Xorthfield 142 

Directory of General Ixformation 145 

Government — Town Officers, 1910 — Post-Offices — 
Churches — Public Schools — Patriotic and Fraternal 
Organizations — Village Improvement Society — 
Water Companies — Cooperative Creamery Associa- 
tion — Dickinson Memorial Library Report, 1910 — 
Cemeteries — Bridges — Ferries — Fire Department- 
Railroad Stations — Railroad Distances — American 
Express Offices — Telegraph Service — -Telephone Ser- 
vice — Town Assets, 1910 — Assessments, 1910 — 
Bonded Debt, 1910— Valuation and Taxes, 1910. 

Afterword 164 




Seal of the Town of Northfield. 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 

PAGE 

The Earliest Deed with the Indians 2 

Seal of the Town of Xorthheld 8 

The Connecticut Valley 15 

Sheep Falls 18 

Roaring Brook Falls 19 

Northheld Street from West Northfield 21 

Oak Tree Memorial 31 

Beers' Grave Memorial 33 

King Philip's Tree 34 

Dickinson Monument 47 

Summer Residence of Col. Janeway -51 

D. L. Moody 55 

A Page from tlie Moody Family Bible 57 

Northfield Seminary Buildings 65 

Miss Evelyn S. Hall 67 

}>lount Hermon School Buildings 71 

D. L. Aloody and Principal Cutler 17i 

The Auditorium 11 

Student Volunteer Tablet, Mount Hermon School . . 79 

D. L. Aloody Addressing the Campers 80 

j\Iap of Northfield 82 

A Glimpse of Main Street 83 

Stockade Memorial 85 

Dedicatory Exercises, Belcher Memorial Fountain . . 88 

Unitarian Church and Webster Block 88 

Main Street at Dickinson Memorial Library .... 92 

Map of East Northfield \ . . . 96 

Revell Hall 99 

Home of D. L. Moody 102 

Seminarv Buildings 102 



10 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

PAGE 

Birthplace of D. L. Moody 107 

Graves of Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Moody 107 

Bear's Den Ill 

Sleighing and Skiing in the Woods 112 

Cathedral Pines 113 

Mount Hermon School Ground Plan 114 

Mount Hermon Pines 115 

Beers' Massacre jMemorial 117 

j\Iap of Northfield Township and Vicinit}^ . . 120, 121 

Munn's Ferry . . 122 

Pauchaug Fall 125 

Pauchaug Brook 126 

Ashuelot River 128 

In Pisgah Primeval Forest in Winter 131 

Advent Christian Church and Parsonage, South Vernon 134 

Vernon Dam 135 

Bird 140 

Nest 141 

Map of Approaches to Northfield 158 

Winter Sports at the Northfield 166 



TOPOGRAPHY 

IN describing the topography of Northfield, the 
boundaries, dimensions and divisions of the 
present township are first given in the follow- 
ing sections. The rivers and streams are then 
described, as being most easily recognizable. The 
mountains and hills, meadows and plains follow. 
While the names in most cases have come down 
from the early times, no attempt is here made to 
indicate the changes that have occurred in regard 
to these physical features since the town was 
started. 



BOUNDARIES AND DIMENSIONS. 

(See map, page 120.) 

On the north by the state line, five and one third 
miles long, in an almost straight line running east and 
west. The northwest corner of the town is designated 
by a rough granite monument marked "b & n, mass., 
1806" situated on the northwesterly slope of Pond 
■Mountain, about 800 feet from the summit. Thence 
the state and town line separating Northfield from 
Vernon, Vermont, runs 15,100 feet south 87° 48' east 
to a large, dark granite monument situated on the top 
of the westerly bank of the Connecticut River, about 
400 feet east of the railroad tracks ; thence 582 feet 
further east in the same direction to the true corner, 
a copper bolt in the apex of a block of granite of a 
pyramidal shape marked "mass. vt. 1895 n. h..'" 
situated at the foot of the west bank of the river, at or 
near ordinary low-water line. From this point the 
line separating Northfield from Hinsdale, New Hamp- 
shire, runs 11)15 feet south 87° 22' east to a dressed 
granite monument marked "'n. mass. 1894" "'n. & h. 
N. H. 1894," situated in the open field 9'2 feet west 



12 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

of the Hinsdale road. From here the townships of 
Northfield and Winchester, New Hampshire, are 
separated by a Hne running 1J.41 feet south 87° 19' 
east to a granite monument marked "w. n. h. 1894" 
'^'n. mass. 1894," situated at the corner of a cultivated 
field on the easterly side of the highway opposite F. H. 
Doolittle's house; and thence 91-38 feet south 87° 18' 
east to a dark, rough hammered stone monument 
marked ''n. & w. m.s. 1894" 'V. m.n.h.w. 1894," 
situated on the easterly slope of Louisiana j\lountain, 
about 300 feet east of a large spike in the ledge near 
the summit. 

On the east by Warwick. Beginning at the corner 
of Xorthfield, Winchester and Warwick, just described, 
the line runs ;3-3,746 feet south 16° 40' east to the 
corner of Northfield, Warwick and Erving, a stone 
slab marked "e. n. w.;" situated at the corner of a wall 
south of Air. Moore's house, about 150 feet west of 
the Wendell road. 

On the south by Erving. Beginning at the stone 
slab just mentioned, the line separating Northfield from 
Erving runs 24, ^fi'^ feet south 73° 10' west to a rough 
split granite monument marked ''e. n.;" situated at a 
junction of wire fences a little south of Four-AIile 
Brook; thence 4935 feet south 5° 30' east to a granite 
monument marked "e.." situated in the woods on the 
northwesterly slope of a hill at a point about 550 feet 
north of a cart path; thence 7615 feet south 85° 25' 
west to the witness mark to the corner of Erving, Gill 
and Northfield, a rough split granite slab marked 
''k. n." situated on the east bank of the Connecticut 
River about one half mile north of the mouth of 
Millers River ; thence about 390 feet in the same direc- 
tion to the true corner, an unmarked spot in the middle 
of the river near French King rock. 

On the west by Gill and Bernardston. The line 
follows the middle of the Connecticut from near 
French King rock north to the old mouth of Bennett's 
Brook, about six miles ; thence in a zigzag line to the 



ALL ABOUT NORTHPIELD 13 

corner of Gill, Piernardston and Northficld, a granite 
monument, unlettered but bearing various dates, 
situated at a junction of fences, about 800 feet north 
of Mr. Bailey's house. From this corner the line 
between Northfield and Bernardston runs 19,039 feet 
north 16° 53' west to the northwest corner of the 
town, from wdiich this description started. 

Extremes of Latitude — \2° 36' to 43' north. 
Extremes of Longitude — 72° 23' to 31' west. 
Extreme length, north and south — 8^^ miles. 
Average width, east and west — 5 miles. 
Area — 19,691^8 acres. 

DIVISIONS. 

For local and postal convenience it is customary 
to speak of the different sections of the township 
as follow^s : 

Northfield Centre — The original town, from Mil- 
ler's Brook on the south to Mill Brook on the north, 
east of the Connecticut River ; post-office ; railroad 
station ; express office ; telegraph office ; telephone 
exchange ; Unitarian and Roman Catholic Churches ; 
Town Hall ; public library ; graded and high schools ; 
Masonic Hall; hotel and boarding houses; mills; 
stores ; livery stables and garages ; two cemeteries ; 
creamery; highway bridge over the Connecticut; 
raihvay bridge. 

Northfield Farms — South of Northfield Centre, 
east of the Connecticut ; post-office ; two railroad 
stations; library; district schools; cemetery; two 
ferries; store. Northfield Farms is about six miles 
long north and south, and is sometimes further sub- 
divided into the Upper and Lower Farms. The 
origin of its name is explained in a later chapter. 
A rich agricultural district, with one pickle factory. 

East Northfield— North of Northfield Centre, 
east of the Connecticut ; post-office ; telegraph office ; 



14 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

Congregational Church ; graded schools ; hotels and 
boarding houses ; stores ; livery stables and garage ; 
bridge over the Connecticut. Formerly a thickly 
settled farming community, and owing its character 
and growth since 1879 to the Aloody schools and 
conferences. 

West Northfield — AA^est of the Connecticut, from 
the state line to (say) Bennett's Meadow Bridge ; 
post-office ; railroad station ; express office ; tele- 
graph office ; cemetery ; hall ; district schools ; 
stores ; bridge over the Connecticut. This section 
is hilly, with rich farms. Just over .the state line, 
in the towmship of Vernon, Vermont, there are a 
hotel and livery stable ; mill ; Advent Christian 
Church — the village and railroad station hence be- 
ing also known as South Vernon, Vt. 

Mount Hermon. — The school buildings are in 
Gill township, but give their name to the southwest 
section of Northfield, below Bennett's Meadow 
Bridge ; post-office ; railroad station ; express office ; 
cemetery ; mill. Mount Hermon grounds are in 
territory that was set off from Northfield to Gill in 
1795. 

Northfield Mountain — The hilly section in the 
southeast corner of the township, whose population 
has been depleted by death and removal. Two 
district schools ; two cemeteries. 



RIVERS AND STREAMS. 

(See map, page 120.') 

Northfield is Avell watered. The broad Connecti- 
cut flows the whole length of the township and is 
fed by several tributaries wdiich rise on the hill- 
sides east and west. Some of these are ideal trout 
streams, while bass, pike and other fish reward the 
knowing angler in the river. The streams con- 
tribute much to the delightful combination of wood 



ALL ABOUT NORTHPIliLD 



15 




The CuNNEci icl 1 Vallev, LoukixXg North kkum Revell Hall. 



and water for which Northfield hills are famous. 
There "are several dry beds of brooks that once 
carried a full stream. 

Connecticut River. — The Connecticut is the long- 
est river in New England — about 400 miles long. 
It rises in the north of New Hampshire, near the 
Canadian border, and has a southerly course 
throughout its whole length. Its west bank is the 
boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont. 
Crossing midway the states of Massachusetts and 
Connecticut, it empties into Long Island Sound at 
Saybrook. Few rivers have so many educational 
centres upon its banks. 

Its name is derived from the Indian name 
Ouinnch-tiik^\ong river w^ith waves; or more ex- 
actly, by a misapplication, Oiiin]icJi-fuk-ut=:a.t the 
long river with waves ; that is, land bordering on 
the river. 

Within the township of Northfield the Connecti- 
cut follows a winding southerly course of about ten 
miles. Average width, 650 feet. The fall is slight. 
Altitude above sea. level, 200 feet. Its current is 
treacherous, making swimming and boating rather 
dangerous. The river is subject to sudden rises 
following heavy rains. In the spring the melting 
snows up north often swell the river until the lower 
meadows on both sides are flooded. It is con- 



16 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

tinually wearing away its banks at some points, and 
filling" in at others. It is not here used for com- 
mercial purposes, except for floating logs to lumber 
and paper mills lower down the river. 

Before the coming of the railway and the building 
of dams considerable traffic Avas done on the Connec- 
ticut from Hartford as far north as Bellows Falls. 
The boats were flat-bottomed scows, 40 x 16 feet in 
size, with a cabin at the stern for the four or six 
men who, with a "captain," constituted the crew. 
Progress was by sailing or poling. The up cargoes 
consisted of groceries, molasses, rum, salt and other 
household commodities, while the boats carried 
farm produce and lumber on the return voyages. 
Lumber used also to be sent down the river in 
rafts. The tolls at the Turners Falls canal 
amounted to $10,500 in 1844! 

In the older days also, before the migration of 
fish was obstructed by the Holyoke dam, shad and 
salmon were wonderfully plentiful in these parts. 
At rapids now flooded by the Turners Falls dam, 
it is said that 5000 shad have been taken in a day 
by dipping nets when the run of the fish was 
hindered and delayed by the rapids. 

Pauchaug Brook rises on the east of Staddle Hill, 
in Winchester township, and follows a southwest- 
erly course. It crosses the line into Northfield 
about three fourths of a mile from the Connecticut, 
and runs a mile before emptying into this river at 
the south end of Pauchaug Meadow. Its course is 
wooded and picturesque. In 1885 Mr. John Wana- 
maker of Philadelphia bought property for the 
Seminary and gave mone}' for damming the brook 
where it crosses the highway to Hinsdale, forming 
a beautiful little lake, which D. L. Moody named 
Wanamaker Lake in his honor. The falls at the 
easterly end are called Minnehaha Falls. This lake 
afifords boating in summer and skating and ice har- 
vesting in winter. 



ALL A BO IT NORTH FIELD 17 

'TaiTchaug" is a name that will recur frequently 
in the following pages. According to Roger Wil- 
liams it means, "They are dancing," or "They are 
playing." Football was one of the favorite sports 
of the Indians, and it is thought that the low, level 
meadow-land to the north was the scene of annual 
games. Apparently the locality was an important 
resort in Indian days. 

Second Brook is the brook that flows past Dr. 
Mabie's residence and through Bonar Glen. It rises 
on the north slope of Notch Alountain, and after a 
westerly course of about one and one half miles 
unites with Pauchaug Brook. Property adjoining 
this brook up the hillside was recently bought by 
Northfield Seminary, and a reservoir for the East 
Northfield Water Company was built in 1904, 
which is apt to exhaust the brook in summer. 

Mill Brook. — This is the brook that crosses Main 
Street near the Congregational Church, and must 
not be confused with Miller's Brook or Sawmill 
Brook (see later paragraphs). Mill Brook and Mill- 
er's Brook marked the north and south limits of the 
early settlement, and their names will be mentioned 
frequently in what follows. 

Mill Brook rises on the west slope of Mount 
Grace, in Warwick township. It enters Northfield 
and flows between Notch and Hemlock Mountains 
in a southwesterly course for over two miles, then 
turns northwest for one and one half miles before 
it empties into the Connecticut near the railroad 
bridge. A feeder flows down between Round and 
Little Hemlock Mountains. 

It received its name because a gristmill was 
erected on the falls just west of Main Street in 
1685, to be followed from time to time by saw, 
carding and other mills near that point or up stream : 
of which only one or two sawmills now remain. 
The artificial lakes east of Main Street, which add 
much to the scenic charm, were excavated and 



18 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 



dammed up by Francis R. Schell on his estate in 
1906-08. The Northfield Water Company has its 
reservoir on this brook and its feeders out on War- 
wick Avenue. 

Mill Brook was in the old days the dividing Hue 
between the territories of the Indian chiefs ^lasse- 
met on the south and Nawelet on the north. Its 
native appellative was Coassock or Co^ca^^pine 
trees' place. 

Miller's Brook w^as equally famous and busy with 
Mill Brook in the stirring days of early settlement. 
Its head waters rise on the sides of Stratton and 
Brush Mountains, wdience it cuts its westerly way 
dow^n into the valley, traverses Dry Swamp, cross- 
ing Main Street in the ravine south of River Street, 
and so across Great Meadow to the river. It has 
furnished power in past years for saw, bark, oil and 
gristmills, and factories of different kinds. 

Its name appears as early as 1686, and may have 
been given in honor of AVilliam Miller, a prominent 
member of the first and second settlements. Its 

Indian n a m e was 
Squcnatock or Ouaii- 
atock = the pouring 
out place, referring 
to the place where 
the water pours over 
the rocky bed. 



Sawmill Brook 

joins Miller's Brook 
shortly after the lat- 
ter crosses the high- 
way to Northfield 
Farms. It comes 
from the southeast, 
rising on the west 
side of Brush Moun- 
tain. There were 
formerly saw, grist 




Sheep Falls, on Sawmill Brook. 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 



19 



and clothing mills on this stream. In some maps it 
is called Sheep Falls Brook. 

Merriman Brook is the brook that empties into 
the Connecticut near Gill ferry. It' got its name be- 
cause it originates in a spring on Bear Mountain 
near where Captain Samuel Merriman first built. 

Pine Meadow Brook, as its name indicates, flows 
across Pine Aleadow from its source on South 
Mountain. 

Four-Mile Brook, often 
called Little Stoney Brook 
in the older records, rises 
west of Crag Mountain at 
an elevation of 1200 feet, 
and pursues a southwest- 
erly course to the Con- 
necticut River, which it 
joins near N o r t h fi e 1 d 
Farms railroad station. 
Roaring Brook is one of 
its feeders on the hillside 
which has a full flow of 
water in the spring, and 
at one place has a con- 
spicuous waterfall. 

Pembroke Grant Brook 

joins the Connecticut 
about half a mile below 
Four-Mile Brook. It de- 
rives its name from Pem- 
broke grant, which was 

added to Northfield tow^nship by act dated fnne 23, 
1773. 

Belding's Brook, formerly known as Little 
Meadow Brook, is the stream that crosses the state 
line from Vernon, Vt., and empties into the Con- 
necticut on the west side near the West Northfield 
railroad station. The present name was given in 
honor of an earlv settler on its banks. 




Roaring Brook Falls. 



20 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

Bennett's Brook, also on the west side of the Con- 
necticut, rises in the uplands near the state line in 
the northwest part of the town. After a southeast- 
erly course of about four miles, during which it 
crosses the highway to Mount Hermon at the Allen 
farmstead, then traverses the length of Bennett's 
Aleadow, it joins the Connecticut at the Gill town- 
ship line. A feeder from the west joins it after 
flowing down through the ravine just north of the 
Mount Hermon grounds. 

Bennett's Brook received its name from James 
Bennett, an explorer and settler of 1675. 

MOUNTAINS AND HILLS. 

(See map, page 120.) 

Here again nature has treated Xorthfield boun- 
teously, for the combination of hill and valley 
makes a general landscape of varied beauty seldom 
to be seen. An observer in the valley might sup- 
pose the hills formed an unbroken range on either 
side of the river, whereas a bird's-eye view shows 
parallel ranges with wooded or cultivated valleys 
between. The woodland roads on the hillsides 
furnish never-tiring drives, while the ravines re- 
ward walking parties bent on pleasure or the study 
of birds and flowers. 

The elevations run from 200 feet above mean 
sea level at the Connecticut River to 1600 feet, Crag 
Mountain, the chief points being as follows, begin- 
ning at the north town line, east of the Connecti- 
cut. 



Louisiana or Pine Mountain, on the state line at 
le northeast corner, south 
Lovers' Retreat — 1100 feet. 



the northeast corner, south of Pauchaug Brook and 



Notch Mountain, south of Pine Mountain, easily 
distinguished bv its greater height and notched out- 
line— 1300 feet.' 



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22 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

Strowbridge Hill, west of Notch Alountain, named 
after a family of that name — 940 feet. 

Hemlock Mountain, sonth of Notch Mountain, 
with jMill Brook flowing between — 1260 feet. 

Round Hill, southeast of Hemlock Mountain and 
directly east of the centre of the town — 1100 feet. 

Alexander Hill, behind or east of Round Hill — 
1340 feet. 

Bear Mountain rises back of Beers' Plain — 1040 
feet. It has a lower eminence on its northwest, 
called Beers' Hill. This was named after Captain 
Beers, who was killed here by Indians in 1675, and 
buried on the hill. The story is told in a later 
chapter. In some maps this mountain is called Beers' 
Mountain. 

Brush Mountain, east of Bear Mountain, and 
separated from Round Hill on the north by Miller's 
Brook— 1580 feet. 

Crag Mountain is south of Brush Mountain, and 
rises a little higher — 1600 feet. 

Stratton Mountain, the Bald Hills, Shuttle Hill 

and other eminences are found still further east and 
south. 

West of the Connecticut the only height within 
the Northfield limits is Pond Mountain, in the 
northwest corner — 1190 feet. A lily pond, 100 acres 
in area, lies at its base in Vernon township. 

MEADOWS AND PLAINS. 

(See map, page 120.) " 

The topography of Northfield exhibits well- 
defined levels, of which the lower, lying along the 
Connecticut banks, were called "meadows" at the 
time of settlement, and the higher, running back to 
the hills, were called "plains." 



ALL ABOUT XORTl I I'lJiLD 23 

The meadows were what first attracted settlers, 
since they had been cleared by the Indians and put 
under cultivation. They were purchased from the 
native owners, and in the divisions of land among 
the early settlers it was usual to g-ive each a slice of 
the meadows proportionate to the amount sub- 
scribed to the common stock, in addition to his 
home-lot on Main Street. The lot lines ran east 
and west, and are in many instances perpetuated 
to the present day. 

The plains were likewise cleared levels ready for 
pasturing or cultivation by the early settlers. 

Great Meadow is the name that was given to the 
lowlands between the centre of the town and the 
river. It was part of the original grant, and was 
then rated as 385 acres. It extends from the rail- 
road bridge on the north to Miller's Brook on the 
south, and is reached from Main Street by three 
highways — Meadow Street, Parker Avenue and 
River Street. A highway runs north and south in 
the meadow, crossing all the lots. 

Little Meadows lie south of Great Meadow, and 
were also part of the original grant, their southern 
end marking the southern limit of the original town. 
They were originally called "Three Little Mead- 
ows," because the tract was divided into three parts 
by the gullies of two small brooks that traversed it. 

Pine Meadow is further south, lying between 
Merriman and Four-Mile Brooks. This tract was 
formerly covered by a growth of yellow pines, and 
was therefore not ready for occupation by the first 
settlers. It was incorporated in Northfield town- 
ship in 1685. Area, about 400 acres. 

Pauchaug Meadow was the second meadow tract 
acquired by the early settlers and allotted in 1673, 
containing 130 acres. Pauchaug Brook crosses it 
near its southerly limit. It is thought that this was 
the scene of annual gatherings of nearby Indian 
tribes for games and competition in athletic feats. 



24 



ALL ABOUT XORTHFIELD 



On the west side of the river is Bennett's Meadow, 
extending from Bennett's Meadow Bridge to the 
mouth of Bennett's Brook. Being so easily accessi- 
ble from the original settlement it was early taken 
up and allotted in 1686. The first list of proprietors 
contains sixteen names. The south bound of this 
tract was the southern limit of the original grant, 
as it is of the town today, west of the Connecticut. 
The Indian name of this section w^as NaJlahaincon- 
gon or Natanis. 

Beers' Plain lies south of Sawmill Brook, between 
Beers' Hill on the east and Little Meadow^s on the 
west. The tract was "common lands" until 1731, 
when it was allotted to the inhabitants. 

Pauchaug Plain is the upland lying east of Pau- 
chaug Meadow, north of Pauchaug Brook. It was 
divided amono- settlers earlv in the third settlement. 



ELEVATIONS. 





FEET 




FEET 


Northfield Township 




Warwick Street 


950 


Connecticut River 


200 


Mount Grace 


1628 


Main Street 
Birnam Road 
Northfield Farms 


300 
400 

300 


Bernardston 

Huckle Hill 


400 
700 


Louisiana Mountain 


1100 


Greenfield 


480 


Notch Mountain 
Strowbridge Hill 
Hemlock Mountain 


1300 

940 

1260 


Winchester, N. H. 
Forest Lake 


450 
446 


Round Hill 


1100 


Hinsdale 


300 


Alexander Hill 


1340 


Ashuelot 


400 


Bear Mountain 


1040 






Brush Mountain 


1580 


Chesterfield 


861 


Crag Mountain 
Pond Mountain 


1600 
1190 


Spofford Lake 


724 


Gill 


300 


Vernon 


300 


Bernard Hill 


460 


Brattleboro 


350 


Mount Hermon School 


440 


Mt. Wantastiquet 


1364 



HISTORY RETOLD 

INDIAN OCCUPATION. 

BEFORE the exploration by white men and the 
settlement of the town of Northfield, the 
territory was occupied by a tribe of river 
Indians called the vSquakheags. 

The name is spelled in no less than nine different 
ways in early deeds and documents, the confusion 
being doubtless due to the difficulty of reducing to 
writing the Indian pronunciation. It is thought 
to be a contracted form of native w^ords meaning 
"A spearing place for salmon," for in those times 
there were well-known places for salmon and shad 
fishing at the rapids and the mouths of the streams 
from Turners Falls to the great bend at Hinsdale 
(which was part of Northfield until 1740). The 
broad river, fertile lowlands and wooded hills fur- 
nished abundance of fish, corn, game and furs for 
the few hundred Indians in their scattered villages. 

''The signs relied upon to determine the site of an 
Indian village are: (1) the presence of large quan- 
tities of domestic utensils, such as stone pestles, 
kettles, knives and hoes ; (2) heaps of roundish 
stones bearing evidence of the alternate action of 
fire and water, which were used, before the intro- 
duction of metal kettles, to heat water by being 
thrown red-hot into their wooden troughs: (3) the 
remains of granaries or underground barns, circu- 
lar excavations about five feet deep and five to six- 
teen feet in diameter, commonly dug in the sloping- 
sides of a knoll or bank so as to secure dryness for 
storing corn (on the ear), dried fish or nuts: (4) a 
burial place; (5) a pile of stone chips, wdiere their 
arrow^ and spear heads were fashioned : (6) a place 
for a planting field and a fort. These indications 
are whollv independent of tradition, and more re- 
liable." 



26 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

Judged by such signs, nearly every bluff along 
the river with an adjacent brook was the site of a 
cluster of wigwams. A village of considerable size 
undoubtedly stood at the south end of the town, at 
the falls on Four-Mile Brook. As late as 1856 a 
heap of arrow heads and chips was plowed up here, 
also two stone hoes with the withe handles still on, 
some pieces of kettles and other stone implements. 
Across the river there was another Indian village, 
called Natanis, on the plateau west of Bennett's 
Meadow. When the grade of the road just north of 
J. P. Holton's was lowered some years ago, "a 
skeleton was discovered, buried in a sitting posture ; 
and on digging to the bottom of the grave there 
were found a pipe, some wampum, a copper toma- 
hawk and a rude copper spoon." King Philip used 
the bluff west of Bennett's Meadow Bridge as a 
camp from February to April, 1676. Another vil- 
lage was located at the falls, called Squenatock or 
Quanatock, on Miller's Brook, with planting fields 
on the level lands north and south. Whole and 
broken skeletons were plowed up on Beers' Plain 
within a hundred years, while the rise where the 
Elmer house now stands has also yielded evidence 
of being an Indian burying place. The falls on 
Mill Brook, Pauchaug Brook and Belding's Brook 
at South Vernon afforded the requirements for other 
villages. A skeleton, supposed to be that of an 
Indian, was dug up in Glen Street a few years ago. 

Little is known of the antecedent history of the 
Squakheags. In 1663 their villages were raided by 
the Mohawks of New York State, who were the in- 
veterate enemies of the Massachusetts Indians. 
These latter combined in 1669 to seek revenge, but 
their expedition was defeated. 

At this juncture white men came on the scene. 
The Squakheags sold them the land, partly because 
they thought the white men would be an added 
protection against their Mohawk enemies, but ap- 
parently largely because they did not appreciate the 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIIILD 27 

full significance of the sale. They remained at their 
old village sites, undisturbed by the settlers, who 
indeed found them easy marks in barter, since '*a 
knife, or a kettle, or a gun, or a i)int of rum — 
though forbidden by law to be sold to the natives — 
would command a most valuable consideration in 
furs and skins." In 1675 trouble arose and the 
Indians became hostile. When the settlers deserted 
Northfield they resumed possession of the territory. 
On the resettlement in 1686 the two races lived in 
friendly relations again until another war between 
the English and French. And so through the 18th 
century : in times of peace straggling parties 
of Indians would appear during the summer, the 
men being hired by the farmers for certain kinds 
of work, while the women peddled baskets and 
brooms by sale or barter. The last of the Squak- 
heag tribe, as he was supposed to be, made regular 
visit's to Northfield until 1828 or '29. Within the 
memory of some now living, occasional small par- 
ties of Indians who came dow^n the river in canoes 
spent the summer in their tepees near Pauchaug 
Hill or at other locations. 

EARLIEST EXPLORATIONS BY THE ENGLISH. 

The earliest record of explorations by the English 
in the Connecticut valley in this vicinity occurs 
in May, 1669, when a committee of four men was 
empowered "to lay out a new plantation near 
Ouinsigamond Pond" (Worcester). Their report 
says that they discovered two other places to the 
westward suitable for town sites, one of them 
''Suckquahege upon the Connecticut River" ; and 
upon their recommendation the Provincial Court 
ordered that the lands mentioned be reserved for 
public use for towns. 

By being suitable for town sites is meant that 
the tracts had been cleared and settled by the In- 
dians. It w^as the custom of the natives to burn 
over the level and fertile lands every fall so as to 



28 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

keep them free from underbrush, where the squaws 
might cultivate the fields of corn and pumpkins. Of 
course the topographical and other features that 
made a locality desirable for Indian settlement also 
made it desirable for the whites. 

This occurred forty-nine years after the landing 
of the IMayflower. 

FIRST SETTLEMENT OF SQUAKHEAG, 1672. 

The next year, 1670, "a party from Northampton, 
including Joseph Parsons, senior, William Janes, 
George Alexander and Micah Aludge, went upon 
discovery of the place, examined the location with 
care, and ascertained that the natives were ready 
and anxious to sell the tract." As the best lands 
up the valley beyond Hadley and Northampton 
had been already occupied in the westward march 
of the Pilgrim settlers, need was felt that the 
frontier should be pushed further north, and "early 
in the spring of 1671 the persons above mentioned, 
with Caleb Pomeroy and perha])s others, went up 
and consummated the purchase." 

The tract to be conveyed extended from Mill 
Brook to Miller's Brook, six miles wide each side 
from "the Great River" — about 10,560 acres. The 
sum to be paid is not known, but after the resettle- 
ment of the territory in 1686 some dissatisfaction as 
to the price was expressed, and so a new deed was 
executed between the Indians and the settlers, dated 
May 24, 1686, giving a clear and satisfactory title 
on the further payment of twelve pounds (English 
money). A second purchase, comprising about 3000 
acres on the west bank of the Connecticut, was 
made by deed dated September 9, 1673, the con- 
sideration being two hundred fathoms of wam]:)um- 
pek. These two tracts comprised the township 
during the first settlement. 

Having bargained for the land, thirty-three peti- 
tioners, of whom thirty appear to have been resi- 
dents of Northampton and three of Hadley, sent 



ALL ABOUT NORTI I L I lU.D 29 

in a petition to the General Conrt, tlie terms of 
which are such as to be worth reprinting- here on 
account of their archaic and historic character : 

''To the Right Honourable and much Honoured 
Generall Court of Massachusetts held at Boston v31st 
of the 3 month 1671 

"Right Honourable and much Honoured in the 
Lord 

"Your humble Petitioners being by the good 
providence of God under your care, government 
and protection, and having by the good hand of 
God in a singular manner enjoyed the same for 
a long time in peace (to the praise of His rich 
grace), the consideration of such signal mercy 
should be a forcible spurr and strong motive to 
quicken us to sincere obedience and hearty thank- 
fulness to the God of Peace, whose free love and 
good pleasure in Jesus Christ is the fountain of all 
our good and comfort. 

"Right Honourable and Much Honoured 

"Your humble petitioners are unfeignedly desir- 
ous (if it may please the Lord to incline your spirits 
to look toward us with a favorable aspect) to con- 
tinue under your government. We conceive there is 
a great duty incumbent upon all that fear God, to 
consider, project and endeavor how they may pro- 
mote Christ's Kingdom in order to posterity ; but 
finding ourselves in a great measure straightened, 
and not in a capacity to attend that great work 
and duty unless w^e remove to some other place, 
which doth occasion us to make our humble address 
to this Honourable Assembly for help and supply. 
The places that our eyes are uppon (though it be 
uncoth remote and we conceive attended with many 
difficulties) yet seeing God in His providence has 
caused the Indians to desert these places called by 
the Indians Squawquegue and Wisoquawquegue : 
And it is reported that they are resolved to sell the 
same either to the English or French ; we conceive 
it would be uncomfortable if that such a people 



30 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

should have any interest there : And those that 
went iippon discovery affirmed that the want of in- 
habitants to l:)urn the meadows and woods, where- 
uppon the underwoods increase, which will be very 
prejudiciall to those that shall come to inhabit, and 
the longer the worse. 

"Right Honourable and much honoured : AVe 
are loath to be tedious in multiplying arguments, 
but desire to be as compendious as may be to 
signify our humble desires to your Worships, that 
we may have liberty and incouragement to purchase 
a Plantation. And if it shall please the Lord to in- 
cline this Honourable Court to grant our humble 
request, and appoint a Committee to transact and 
order the same, we shall acknowledge ourselves 
much obliged to your Worships ; and shall as is 
our bounden duty (with the help and assistance of 
God) lift up our hearts to the Lord Jesiis the mighty 
Councellor, that he would be present with you to 
fill you with a spirit of wisdom courage and the 
fear of the Lord, and that he would guide you in all 
your weighty occasions, consultations, administra- 
tions and conclusions, soe that his great Name 
may be glorified, and that truth righteousness tran- 
quility and peace may flow down as a mighty 
stream throughout the Colony." 

The right honorable and much honored Court- 
referred the petition to a committee, who reported 
favorably on June 8, 167L "provided twenty families 
be settled on the place within four years time, and 
that they procure them a godly and orthodox min- 
ister. And that one square mile within said tract be 
laid out for the General Court or Country use." 
How^ever, the "magistrates" refused their consent, 
for reasons that do not appear unless they hoped to 
secure grants in the rich meadows for themselves, 
as had previously happened at Hatfield, and subse- 
quently happened at Northfield. 

The next spring the petition was renewed, and 
granted on conditions somewhat similar to the 



ALL ABOUT XORTll I'LELD 



31 



above (May 15, 1672). A committee was appointed 
on October 11, 1672, to lay out the plantation and 
fulfil the conditions of settlement. They set the 
bounds on the east side of the Connecticut, from the 
lower end of the Three Little Meadows up the 
river eight miles, and three and three quarter miles 
wide to the east ; on the west side of the Connecti- 
cut, eight miles north from Bennett's Brook, and 
three quarters of a mile wide. It will be noted that 
this carried the north limits of the original town- 
ship to Broad Ih'ook (now in \^ernon, Vt.) on the 
west bank of the Connecticut, and to Ash-swamp 
Brook (now in Hinsdale, N. H.) on the east bank. 

The main street of the new town was laid out at 
the south end of the present Main Street. Sixteen 
home-lots, each twenty rods in width and intended 
to contain seven and a half acres, were laid out on 
the west side of thi's street, and four on the east 
side. Great and Pauchaug Meadows were also di- 
vided among the settlers according to the amount 
each put into the common treasury, while the 
''swamps" (not marshes, but flat lands which were 
wet in certain seasons and so escaped the annual 
burning over by the Indians, thereby being covered 
by timber and brush) and "common lands" w^ere 
free to all for wood and pasturage. 

Settler^ arrived in the 
spring of 1673 and com- 
menced to build log 
houses — not all, however, 
on their scattered home- 
lots, but within a stock- 
ade or picket-fence for 
mutual protection and de- 
fense. Elder \\'illiam 
Janes, one of the settlers, 
was employed as preach- 
er, and a house of wor- 
ship was built. Flax, In- ^^^ ^^^^^ memorial, 
dian corn and wheat were main street. 




32 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

the early crops, while cattle and sheep were raised 
for food and wool. It is reckoned that there were 
between eighty and ninety persons in the sixteen 
families that first settled here. 

The locations of the stockade, and of an oak tree 
under which the first religious services were held, 
are now marked by memorials on Main Street. 

PEACE DISTURBED, 1675. 

Friendly relations existed between the Indians 
and the whites throughout the valley until the 
spring of 1675, when the natives became uneasy. 
Brookfield was destroyed on August 2, the leading 
Indian chief behind the operations being Metacom, 
son of Alassasoit, better known as "King Philip." 
Troops were hurried to the valley by the Massa- 
chusetts authorities, twenty soldiers being garri- 
soned at Northfield. Joseph Dickinson went to 
Hadley about August 19 to urge the sending of more 
soldiers or the removal of the settlers from their im- 
minent danger. Deerfield was attacked on Septem- 
ber 1. Next day a large band of hostile Indians 
fell upon the unready town of Northfield. Eight 
whites were killed at their houses or in the meadows 
before they could get to the fort, and everything 
outside the stockade was laid waste. 

On September 3 Captain Beers and thirty-six 
mounted men, with an ox-team, set out from Hadley 
(thirty miles distant) for the relief of Northfield, 
knowing nothing of the attack the day before. 

'Tt was a long day's work, especially for the oxen ; 
and he halted and camped for the night three miles 
below the town. Leaving the horses here with a 
guard, the captain with his main body and the team 
with stores, started on Saturday morning, Septem- 
ber 4, for the village. He appears to have kept on 
the high plain till he came in sight of Sawmill 
Brook. The ravine through which the stream ran 
was now covered with a rank growth of grass and 
ferns, and leaves were thick on the young trees. 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 



33 



Here he fell into an ambuscade. Captain Beers 
was taken completely at unawares, and his men 
w^ere thrown into confusion. A part of them quickly 
rallied, and with their commander fought bravely 
till their powder and shot were spent. But the odds 
were too great against them." Twenty-one were 
killed, including Joseph Dickinson, who was re- 
turning home Avith 
the relief party. 
Captain Beers fell 
and was buried on 
what has since been 
called Beers' Hill. 
A memorial stone 
near the Samuel 
Merriman house 
marks the tradition- 
al site of his grave. 

Some survivors of 
the disaster reached 

Hadley next day, and a force of 100 men was hurried 
to Northtield at once, reaching here the day after 
(Monday, September 6). The Indians were still 
on the attack, so a council w^as held and it was de- 
cided to desert the town. The soldiers and settlers 
left that night for Hadley and Northampton. The 
Indians then burnt the fort and remaining houses, 
and so Northfield's career was ended for the time. 




BEERS' Grave IVIemorial, 
Beers' Hill. 



INDIAN OCCUPATION RESUMED. 

The Squakheags took part in the massacre of Cap- 
tain Beers' party and the destruction of the town, 
their intimate knowledge of the locality as well as 
of the habits and personal characteristics of the 
settlers no doubt contributing largely to the suc- 
cess of the affair. 

They now resumed possession of their old home. 
Indians waylaid and attacked the English as favor- 
able opportunities oft'ered throughout New England. 
The English were at length aroused, and the de- 



34 



ALL ABOUT KORT LI FIELD 



struction of the Narragansett fort in Rhode Island 
by a combined army of Massachusetts, Plymouth 
and Connecticut troops on December 19 led the 
Indians to see that union was their best policy to 




King Philip's Tree. Photo Taken in 1896. 



prevent extermination. A great gathering of tribes 
was therefore held at Northfield — the first ''North- 
field Conference" on record ! The Squakheags were 
already here, making their winter quarters at 
Coasset, a belt of pine woods on the west bank of 
the Connecticut a little above the present state line. 
Narragansetts, Nashaways, Nipmucks, and other 
tribes, comprising in all not less than 2000, moved 
north and reached the rendezvous on March 7 
(1676). King Philip had made his winter quarters 
over near Albany, but came east in February and 
encamped for a few weeks on "King Philip's Hill," 
then joined the other Indians at Coasset. 

"The gathering of the Indians here was a notable 
event of the war, and memorable in the annals of 



ALL ABOUT NOr<TULIliLD 35 

Squakheag. The head chief of two of the leading 
New England tribes, the Wampanoags and Narra- 
gansetts, here joined hands and hearts for the strug- 
gle which both of them knew was for life or death. 
All the personal adherents of King Philip and his 
kinsman, Oiiinnapin, appear to have been in at- 
tendance with their chiefs. Canonchet, son of the 
renowned Miantonimoh, and hereditary sachem of 
the Narragansetts, was attended by the flower of 
that once terrible clan. His uncle, Pessacus, now 
just past the prime of life, was with him in the 
capacity of chief counselor. Sancumachu, a Xono- 
tuck sachem, and now the acknowledged leader of 
the Pacomptocks and Agawams, was here with a 
considerable part of the united tribes. Mautamp 
and his Quaboags, now firm supporters of Philip, 
were here. Some of the Nashaways, Hassaname- 
setts, Naticks and stragglers from other clans were 
here, making with the Squakheags an immense mul- 
titude. From reliable data it is believed that from 
the 9th to the 25th of March (1676) there were not 
less than 2500 Indians, including women and chil- 
dren, at Nawelet's old village sites about the mouth 
of the Ashuelot and on the opposite side of the Con- 
necticut. At a council of chiefs it was decided to 
hold this part of the valley as a common rendezvous 
and abiding place for the old men, squaws and chil- 
dren." The river would yield its fish for food, and 
the meadows should be planted with corn and 
pumpkins for the next winter's supplies, while the 
warriors were off on the war path. 

They remained at Coasset until about July 1. 
The death of King Philip on August 12 was the sig- 
nal for a general dispersion. 

SECOND SETTLEMENT, 1682-90. 

Seven years passed away after the evacuation and 
destruction of Squakheag (Northfield) before steps 
were taken for its resettlement. During this time 
some of the settlers had been killed, others had sur- 



36 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

rendered their rights and settled elsewhere, but 
most of them (or their heirs) still retained their 
grants. In the spring of 1682 the proprietors peti- 
tioned the General Court, who appointed a new 
committee to oversee the resettlement. Next year 
rules for the settlers were agreed upon. In 1684 
highways ten rods wide (165 feet) were laid out to 
serve as a main street and roadways to Great 
Meadow, and perhaps some crops were put in. 

In the spring of 1685 about twenty families came 
to Northfield and built on their home-lots. A fort 
was also built, and a gristmill on Mill Brook. On 
petition to the General Court the original township 
was increased by the extension of the southern 
boundary two and a half miles further south, to 
Four-Mile Brook. The home-lots on Main Street 
were equal in size, twenty rods front (330 feet) and 
running sixty rods to the brow of Meadow Hill on 
the west, and the meadows and other lands on both 
banks of the river to the northern limits of the 
town beyond the Ashuelot River were apportioned 
according to the amount ''subscribed in advance by 
each engager." A home-lot of seven and a half 
acres and forty-six acres of other land were re- 
served for a minister. Meadow land was also re- 
served for a smith. A piece of land on Meadow 
Hill was reserved for a burying ground (now the 
centre burying ground), the location being tra- 
ditionally selected because Sergeant Samuel Wright 
was killed here by the Indians on September 2, 1675, 
and his bones when found buried where he fell. All 
the land not divided and apportioned was called 
Common or Town land, and was open for pasturage 
to all settlers. 

The first town meeting was held March 18, 1686. 
Two supervisors, one constable, two fence viewers 
and two measurers of land were the officials ap- 
pointed. A second fort was built just south of Mill 
Brook for the protection of families at the north 
end of the street. Its location is now marked by a 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 37 

boulder at Dr. Pentecost's northeast fence corner. 
The old fort well was recently uncovered on Dr. 
Pentecost's north lawn. 

In 1687 about 65,000 more acres of land were 
purchased from the Indians, "in consideration of 
the sum of forty-five pounds in trade." The tract 
ran north from Mill Brook to VVanascatok Brook, 
six miles wide from the Connecticut on either side. 
This was Nawelet's land. 

In 1688 the settlers began to improve their cir- 
cumstances and voted a levy to build a meeting 
house and a bridge over Mill Brook. But their plans 
were not to be carried out. Instigated and hired 
by the French authorities in Canada to kill and 
scalp whites and Indians in English and Dutch 
territory, a band of eleven northern Indians passed 
down the valley through Northfield in July. On 
July 27 they murdered five friendly Indians near 
Springfield, and disappeared. On August 16 six 
persons in Northfield were murdered, presumably 
by the same band — three men, two women and a 
girl. Despatches were hurried to Springfield, and a 
garrison of soldiers was sent to Northfield. Fear 
seized upon the settlers once again, and half of the 
families left town. 

The condition of the remnant was now hard. Few 
in numbers, they were unable to make the most of 
their lands and were burdened by the support of 
the garrison. The men had also to do their share in 
watching against the enemy. Others could not be 
induced to come and fill the depleted ranks of the 
settlers. At length war was declared between Eng- 
land and France. The revolution of 1688 had driven 
James II. from the throne of England, and William 
and Mary of Orange accepted the crown. King- 
William's war against the French began in 1690 
and lasted until 1697. The struggle between these 
nations was transferred to their possessions on 
this continent, although there were no immediate 
local reasons to break the friendship with the In- 



38 ALL ABOUT XORTHFIELD 

diaiis. Northfield being the northernmost town in 
the valley once more faced the dangers of attack. An 
order of the County Court dated June 25, 1690, 
therefore directed the inhabitants to transport their 
corn and live stock down to Springfield within six 
to eight days. 

Thus ended the second settlement. 

INTERIM OF TWENTY-FOUR YEARS, 1690-1714. 

In earlier years the Indians had been moved to 
hostility and revenge by the constant encrqach- 
ment of the whites upon territory which they had 
hitherto held as their own. They probably did not 
understand the sale of their lands, even though they 
were on the whole treated honorably and were still 
allowed to hunt and fish as of yore. The sense 
of being crowded out and of losing their rights 
headed up in King Philip's wars and the later 
struggles of a vanishing race. 

A second cause that now came into operation to 
incite the Indians to hostility was the political and 
religious jealousy of the French against the growing 
power of the English, and their struggle for su- 
premacy in North America. French adventurers, 
soldiers of fortiine, priests and trappers had come 
first to the northern points, "dotting the banks of 
the rivers and lakes with trading posts and mission 
stations." All the principal attacks upon the New 
England settlements from now on were due to this 
second cause. 

War continued between England and France until 
the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, during which time 
the French governor of Canada was tireless in his 
efiforts to instigate the Indians to harass the Eng- 
lish. And when peace was declared, it was to be for 
only a brief time. "The struggle for supremacy in 
the new world was a vital one, and now was the 
time to decide it." In May, 1702, war was again 
declared, and continued until the Treaty of Utrecht, 
March 30, 1713— Oueen Anne's War. 



ALL ABOUT XORTJIFIELI) 39 

THIRD AND PERMANENT SETTLEMENT, 1714. 

By the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht France 
ceded Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to England, 
and relinquished all claim to the allegiance of the 
Indian tribes known as the Five Nations. This re- 
lieved the situation, st) the survivors of the North- 
field settlers, hoping for permanent peace, petitioned 
the General Court in the fall of 1713 to revive the 
former grants and appoint a committee to take 
charge. The petition was granted under date Feb- 
ruary 22, 1714, "provided that forty families be 
settled there within three years next coming: and 
that they procure and encourage a learned orthodox 
minister to settle with them. The town to be named 
Northfield. The town to lie in the county of Hamp- 
shire.'^ Hampshire county embraced the entire 
western part of the Province of Massachusetts at 
that time ; Franklin county, in which Northfield now 
stands, not being established until June 24, 1811. 

About twenty men came forward in their own 
or their fathers' rights, or by purchase of other 
men's rights, to constitute the party of settlement, 
but of these not more than eight took possession the 
first season. Some of the others follow^ed later, 
some died, the remainder sold their rights. 

In the next few years the old lot lines were re- 
established, the highways marked out again, and 
various improvements initiated. On October 3, 
1716, the town committee called the Rev. James 
Whitmore, fresh from Yale College, ''to carry on 
the work of the ministry for the space of half a 
year, and for his encouragement have agreed to 
give him twenty-five pounds and subsist him and 
his horse," in addition to a house. On December 17, 
1716, the town committee induced Stephen Belden 
(or Belding) of Swampfield to build and maintain a 
gristmill on Mill Brook by the grant of fifteen acres 
of land and other considerations. 

On ^March 4, 1717, the settlers were for the first 



40 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

time permitted to elect the town officers, subject to 
the approval and confirmation of the committee. 
Hitherto the committee had themselves appointed 
the town officers annually. On the same date the 
town voted a grant of twelve acres to Jonathan, a 
brother of Stephen Belding, to build a sawmill on 
Mill Brook. Rev. James AX^iitmore's engagement ex- 
pired in April, 1717, and that fall the Rev. Benjamin 
Doolittle, of Wallingford, Conn., was engaged to 
supply for the winter. The town owned and kept a 
canoe on the river, and a scow or large boat for fer- 
rying teams across to Bennett's Meadow and for 
bringing home the crops. Brickmaking was now 
commenced, the clay being found at the south end 
of Main Street. 

A meeting house was built in 1718, Sabbath meet- 
ings having previously been held in private houses. 
Mr. Doolittle accepted a call to a settled pastorate 
in August of this year, the town agreeing to give 
him, "for his encouragement," a convenient house- 
lot, fifty acres of meadow and swamp land, ten 
acres of pasture land, a dwelling house, one hundred 
pounds in money payable within three years, fifty- 
five pounds a year for the first six years of service 
and seventy-five pounds a year afterwards (increas- 
ing this in case his family needed more), and a 
yearly supply of wood. The ten acres of pasture 
land referred to were laid out where Revell Hall 
now stands. Mr. Doolittle was also a regularly edu- 
cated physician, and his medical practice became so 
large and lucrative during the wars of the period as 
to interfere with his ministerial duties. 

On February 23, 1720, the town committee 
granted the right to certain parties to establish a 
sawmill on Bennett's Brook. On April 11 of that 
year the townspeople voted farms of equal size, 
about 700 acres in all, to the three members of the 
committee as compensation for their services in 
settling the town : which grants constituted the sec- 
tion since called "Northfield Farms." A new sur- 



ALL ABOUT NORTHPrRLI) 41 

vey of the township was made by Timothy Dwight. 
The length of the town was now nearly twelve miles 
on the east side of the Connecticut, north from Four- 
Mile Brook ; and eight miles on the west side of the 
river, northward from Bennett's Brook. This lo- 
cated the north bounds at Broad Brook on the west 
side (near the north line of the present Vernon 
township) and at Ash-swamp Brook on the east 
side (now in Hinsdale township). It gave an area 
of 31,296 acres, or a quarter more than the original 
grant of six square miles. The General Court for 
a time refused to authorize the survey, but on June 
21, 1733, the governor and legislature, granted the 
town what was claimed, and confirmed D wight's 
survey. 

On June 15, 1723, the General Assembly for the 
Province of Massachusetts Bay, held at Boston, 
granted a petition of the proprietors and inhabit- 
ants of Northfield for the incorporation of the town, 
on the ground that the number of inhabitants had 
so far increased that they judged themselves capa- 
ble of managing the prudential afifairs of the place. 
The committee which had hitherto managed the 
plantation by appointment of the General Court was 
therefore discontinued. 

FATHER RALLE'S WAR, 1722-25. 

The counter purposes of the French and English 
were quieted in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht, and 
for upwards of nine years peace reigned. During 
this time the ^lassachusetts colony pushed forward 
their forts and settlements in the Province of 
Maine in territory which they claimed to have ac- 
quired by purchase and treaty from the eastern 
Indians. The latter denied this, however, and re- 
sented the northward progress of the English. 
Trouble therefore gathered once more. The In- 
dians were secretly urged on and supported by the 
French governor-general of Canada, who repre- 



42 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

sented to the king of France the necessity of main- 
taining the Indians in possession of the territory as 
a buffer between New England and New France. 

The war that ensued received its name from 
Father Sebastian Ralle, or Rale, a French Jesuit 
missionary among the Indians on the Kennebec 
River, who took a leading public and political part 
in the principal events of the struggle in the interest 
of the French. 

Peace was broken by Indian outrages in Maine 
on June 13, 1722, and following days. The governor 
and council of Massachusetts declared war. North- 
field, still th^ most northerly township in the Con- 
necticut valley, took fright, petitioned the General 
Court for aid, and rebuilt the forts, as the dates on 
the memorial stones on Main Street indicate. 

It was not until the next year, however, that 
Northfield blood was shed. On August 13, 1723, 
two of the leading citizens were waylaid and killed 
by a party of Indians under Gray Lock, chief of the 
Waranokes, whose headquarters at this time were at 
the north end of Lake Champlain and who took the 
warpath upon the instigation of the French. Next 
day they killed tw^o and captured two at Rutland, 
and then returned to Canada with their captives and 
booty. Flushed with success, Gray Lock soon re- 
turned on another raid, and in spite of such military 
precautions as had been taken, surprised Northfield 
on October 9, killing one, wounding others, and 
taking one prisoner. 

In order to throw up a defense for the Connecti- 
cut valley settlements and establish a post for scout- 
ing further north, the House of Representatives 
voted in December following to build a block-house 
above Northfield. This was erected in February, 
1724, in what is now the southern part of Brattle- 
boro township, and named Fort Dummer in honor 
of William Dummer, then acting governor of Mas- 
sachusetts. It was built of pine logs, about 180 feet 
square. "A row of houses was built against the wall 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIPIELD 43 

around on the inside, and fronting on the hollow 
square, which served as a parade ground." The new 
command was given to Captain Timothy D wight. 

Northfield was now" relieved from direct attack : 
the scene of bloodshed and pillage was moved north. 
But the burden of war weighed heavily upon those 
who had to do scouting and garrison duty, and the 
interests of the town were stunted. War dragged 
on summer after summer until the Indians became 
tired of the conflict, realizing that they were only 
the tools of the French — losing their numbers as 
wxll as being kept from hunting and trapping, while 
all the benefits of the w^ar accrued to the P'rench. 
Peace was finally brought about by a treaty at 
Boston on December 15, 1725. 

PEACE AND PROGRESS, 1726-44. 

AVith the advent of peace the garrison at North- 
field w^as discharged, and frontier life resumed its 
normal channels. The Indians once more traded 
with the whites, exchanging furs for ammunition, 
liquor and other articles of a superior civilization. 
A truck-house or trading post was established by 
the provincial government at Fort Dummer in 1728. 

In 1731-32 the common lands were divided by lot, 
each man having a choice of so many acres for poll 
and a further number of acres according to his 
valuation. It was at this time that AVilliam Holton 
chose his share of eighty-one acres "at the north 
end of Bennett's Hill, wdiich eventually led to the 
location of the Holton family in that vicinity" : part 
of which estate has remained in the family ever 
since without ever having been deeded. The shares 
coming to the more substantial settlers ran upwards 
of a thousand acres. Many of those who had no 
great stake in the town sold their shares to land 
speculators. "Ezekiel Kellogg, trader of Hadley, 
bought up 2124 acres, which he sold in 1734 for 
twenty-two cents per acre to James Brown of New- 



44 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

port, R. I." Land in town has sold for $2000 an 
acre of recent years ! 

There was an article in the town warrant for the 
annual meeting in 1731 to see if the town would 
build a schoolhouse : but apparently it failed of adop- 
tion. Five years later the County Court called the 
town to time for not having a school, as required 
by law. A meeting or two were therefore held, and 
it was voted that a schoolhouse should be erected. 
It Avas also in 1731 that "the town voted to send a 
representative to the General Court, but for some 
reason failed of making an election, as they did for 
the succeeding five years." The first representative 
was chosen in 1737. 

"At this date Massachusetts held by undisputed 
right the territory as far north as the present south 
line of Westmoreland, N. H., and claimed a good 
title to the country about thirty miles further north, 
and to the east as far as the Merrimack River. On 
petition of divers parties living in different sections 
of the Province who were desirous of securing the 
rich meadow lands in that region, the General Court 
on January 15, 1736, voted that it is expedient to lay 
out four townships on the east side of the Connecti- 
cut River above Northfield, said townships to be of 
the contents of six square miles, and not to extend 
more than six miles from the river. The south 
bound of township No. 1 was placed at a point on 
the river near the present dividing line between 
Hinsdale and Chesterfield, N. H. The north bound 
of No. 4 was in the upper part' of the present town 
of Charlestown, N. H. No. 2 would about corre- 
spond with Westmoreland, N. H., and No. 3 with 
Walpole, N. H. Two townships were also laid out 
on the west side of the Connecticut, one correspond- 
ing to Westminster, Vt., the other to Putney, Vt. 
The laying out of these new plantations, and the 
simultaneous beginning (in 1736) of settlements 
at Upper Ashuelot (now Keene, N. H.) and Arling- 
ton (now Winchester, N. H.)" relieved Northfield 



ALL ABOUT NORTIII'IRLD 45 

of its exposed condition and naturally gave its peo- 
ple an impulse to improve their holdings lying on 
and above the Ashuelot River. "As early as 1723 
a highway two rods wide was laid from Pauchaug 
to the Ashuelot, and in 1736 this highway was 
extended through Merry's Meadow. Indeed, the 
travel and transportation between Northfield and 
Fort Dummer, all of which went on the east side of 
the river and over this highway to the fordway 
above the mouth of Broad Brook, had made a 
well-worn road. The existence of this estab- 
lished pathway w^as one of the reasons why 
men located on the east earlier than on the 
west side of the river." While all this ter- 
ritory was then Northfield, it is outside the scope 
of the present volume to go into historic details 
concerning its development. It was detached from 
the town by a decree of King George II. of England, 
dated August 5, 1740. The dispute between the 
provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire as 
to the exact location of the boundary line, depending 
upon the interpretation of the Massachusetts charter 
of 1692, was referred to the king as the last resort. 
He located it forty miles further south than the line 
claimed by Massachusetts, fourteen, miles further 
south than the line claimed by New Hampshire. A 
tract about four and one-half miles wide was thus 
cut ofif Northfield, ''but as late as 1753 the common 
lands lying north of the Ashuelot were divided to 
the old grantees, and the titles thus acquired held 
good." Till the incorporation of Hinsdale in 1753 
the people living in the severed territory were 
styled, in deeds and official documents, "of the 
northerly part of Northfield township above the line 
of the Massachusetts government." 

OLD FRENCH AND INDIAN V/AR, 1744-49. 

France and England declared w^ar against each 
other once again in 1744. This of course meant 



46 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

renewed hostilities between New England and the 
French and Indians. 

The French received news of the outbreak of war 
a month before the intelligence reached Boston, and 
proceeded to strike the northern frontiers at once. 
New Hampshire refused to protect its lately ac- 
quired territory in the upper Connecticut valley, 
but left it to Alassachusetts, in whose interest Dum- 
mer, Hinsdell's and other forts had been erected. 
Northfield took immediate action as a town, and 
voted to erect four "mounts" — square towers each 
nineteen feet high, boarded up twelve feet and lined 
with planks the rest of their height, with the upper 
story fitted up for a sentry, and all surrounded by 
a stockade. Some soldiers wxre sent here by the 
government. This town was the base of supplies 
and men for the forts north and west, though the 
military headquarters w^ere at Northampton and 
Hatfield. 

Indian attacks began in the upper valley in July, 
1745. The next summer their bands were all along 
the northwest frontier. On August 11, 1746, a small 
party in the hills east of Northfield shot and killed 
a citizen, Benjamin Wright. The spring of 1747 
saw renewed and more determined attacks by the 
French and Indians. 

On April 15 of this year Nathaniel Dickinson and 
Asahel Burt were waylaid, killed and scalped a little 
after sunset as they were bringing cow^s home from 
Pauchaug Meadow. They were ascending Pau- 
chaug Hill, near where the- memorial shaft now 
stands, when Dickinson's horse was shot and fell, 
the Indians then springing upon Dickinson and 
tomahawking him. Burt's horse was also killed, but 
he tried to escape by going back to the meadow. He 
was, however, overtaken at the foot of the hill and 
killed. The monument was erected by Dickinson's 
great-grandchildren at the time of the bicentennial of 
Northfield in 1872. 

On July 23, 1748, x\aron Belding started a little 



ALL ABOUT XORTHPIliLD 



47 




Dickinson Monument, Pauchaug Hill. 



before sunrise from Alexander's fort at the north end 
of Main Street (now East Northfield), intending to 
go to his mother's house below Mill Brook and then 
to Dickinson fort (near the present memorial 
library building). A party of Indians that was 
skulking in the vicinity saw him start, followed and 
shot him as he was passing the ledge of rock on 
which the Congregational Church now stands. "The 
shot brought him down, and one of the savages 
instantly sprang upon him. Mr. Belding recognized 
the Indian as an old acquaintance, and begged him 
to spare his life. But with a curse the Indian drew 
his knife, cut around his crown, and placing one 
foot on his neck and clenching the hair with both 
hands, jerked off the scalp entire : then striking 
a hatchet into his head he left him. The people 



48 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

were generally in bed, but on hearing the report 
of the Indian's gun the watch gave an alarm, and 
the inhabitants, most of whom lodged in the forts, 
got out as soon as possible. Belding was alive when 
his brother and others reached him, and was suffi- 
ciently conscious to give some of the particulars, 
but died soon after being carried to the fort." An 
inscription is cut in the face of the rock near where 
he fell. 

These were the only Northfield losses during the 
war, the immediate scenes of conflict having been 
moved to the forts and settlements farther north ; 
yet the shadow of the tomahawk and scalping knife 
still hovered over the people, and the whole region 
endured the dangers and hardships of the struggle. 
Northfield was on the highway for sending soldiers 
and supplies to the exposed points, and as before 
had a garrison of soldiers for her defense, while 
the inhabitants were also called on more or less for 
military service. Several Northfield men grew rich 
supplying the military Avith grain, hay and other 
supplies, while the local merchants, blacksmiths 
and other citizens were also benefited. 

Peace between France and England was signed 
at Aix-la-Chapelle on October 7, 1748, although 
peace was not proclaimed in Boston till May 10, 
1749. And even then the Indians were not bound 
by the peace, so that the Connecticut valley frontier 
was still in danger of their depredations. The 
town forts were finallv sold in 1753. 



LAST FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 1754-63. 

The peace following the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 
proved to be shortlived. War was renewed between 
England and France in 1754. 

The English government now realized that there 
could be no permanent peace in America as long 
as France had a stronghold in the north, so the 
plan of campaign included the conquest of Canada. 



ALL ABOUT XORTUUIRLD 49 

The Connecticut valley frontiers were to become the 
scene of fnrther battle and bloodshed for a period 
of nine years. 

Northfield, in a false sense of security, had just 
disposed of its forts as no longer needed, but on 
the report of the first Indian attack up the valley, 
August 30, 1754, it was voted to rebuild them. The^ 
families that had settled on outlying farms gath- 
ered in under the protection of the forts. A garrison 
of twenty soldiers was stationed here, and the local 
militia waked up. The Province of New Hamp- 
shire again refused to defend the Connecticut River 
towns, so the Massachusetts authorities had to 
undertake this burden in self-defense. 

During the opening years of this war success lay, 
as a rule, with the enemy. The northerly forts were 
ambushed, soldiers and settlers slain and captured, 
etc. The English fort at Oswego, N. Y., on Lake 
Ontario was besieged and captured by Montcalm 
in August, 1756. Fort AA^illiam Henry at Ticon- 
deroga was lost in August, 1757. But in 1759 the 
tide of battle turned. Niagara, Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point were taken by the English, and the 
French were driven back into Canada. • General 
AA^olfe broke the French power further by his bril- 
liant victory on the Heights of Abraham and the 
capture of Quebec on September 13. The same 
month an expedition destroyed the Indian head- 
quarters at St. Francis. Montreal was captured on 
September 7, 1760, and the whole Province of 
Quebec and its dependencies surrendered to the 
British arms, thus bringing to a climax the inter- 
national drama on the stage of North America. 

AVhen the French power in Canada was thus 
broken the Indian peril waned. Peace was at length 
restored by the Treaty of Paris. February 10, 1763. 

Northfield furnished her full quota of soldiers 
throughout the w^ar, including several well skilled 
in Indian warfare, and bore her full share of finan- 
cial burden and loss. 



50 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Ten years of reconstruction and growth followed 
at this point. The meeting and schoolhouses were 
built, several new industries sprang up, and new 
stores were opened. 

Then the struggle with the mother country broke 
out. Northfield lined up with the rest of the 
colonies, resented the Revenue act, gave up the use 
of tea and English dress goods, and sent a repre- 
sentative to the Provincial Congress, which first 
convened at Salem on October 5, 1774. A company 
of "minute men" consisting of twenty-six Northfield 
and twenty-five Warwick men was organized and 
trained, and when news of the battle of Lexington 
(fought April 19, 1775) reached town the day after, 
the company immediately responded and marched 
to Cambridge under Captain Wright. A "Commit- 
tee of Safety and Correspondence" was chosen, to 
keep in touch with similar committees throughout 
the provinces for the distribution of news, the inter- 
change of opinions, and the execution of plans. In 
February, 1776, a company was raised at Northfield 
which was ordered the month follow^ing to join the 
expedition against Canada. Throughout the war 
Northfield furnished her full draft of soldiers, who 
took part in the different encounters with the 
British, until the surrender of Cornwallis on Octo- 
ber 10, 1T81, at Yorktown, Va., virtually ended 
the war. 

The first election in Northfield under the new 
state constitution was held on September 4, 1780, 
when the voting was as follows : For governor, 
John Hancock 27, James Bowdoin 3 ; for lieutenant 
governor, James AVarren 28, James Bowdoin 1. 

INDEPENDENCE AND RECONSTRUCTION. 

The years following the securing of independence 
from the mother country brought troubles usual to 
such circumstances. The resources of individuals. 



ALL ABOUT NORTfJ FIELD 



51 




Summer Residence of Col. J. J. Janeway on Winchester Road. 



towns and states were exhausted. Everybody w^as 
in debt. The financial system was in chaos, paper 
money having no assured value. Real estate was 
unsalable. Confidence in the new government was 
not yet established. As early as May 22, 1780, the 
town of Northfield had rejected the proposed new 
state constitution by forty-tw^o to two. Universal 
anxiety and distrust prevailed. 

However, the good sense and sturdy self-reliance 
of the people gradually wrought order and pros- 
perity out of the confusion. The beginning of the 
nineteenth century found Northfield with her in- 
dustries reorganized, her people busily employed, 
many of the square, colonial houses built, and elms 
and maples planted. The foundations were laid 
for the comfort and plenty wdiich Northfield has 
enjoyed ever since. 

The story of the town throughout the century 
may be read further in the descriptions given in. 



52 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

the chapters that follow. The small industries of 
a hundred years ago, when Northfield had mills and 
factories of different kinds, tanneries, forges, etc., 
went down one by one before the invention of labor- 
saving machinery and the corporate consolidations 
of capital and labor. The coming of the railroad in 
1850 gave better facilities and a larger market for 
agricultural products, and stock-raising became the 
main reliance of many farmers. The Civil War 
brought a period of good prices, but with the in- 
vention of reaping and other machines for farming 
on a large scale the West was opened up, and North- 
field could not stand the competition. The migra- 
tion of the young men to the cities and to the West 
depleted the town of much choice blood. The pres- 
ent new era of growth and progress began with the 
return of D. L. Moody to his home town in 1875, 
leading to the foundation of the schools and sum- 
mer conferences. Thousands of students and visit- 
ors now come to Northfield every year, and the hill- 
sides are speedily being taken up for summer resi- 
dences. Every section of the township feels the 
impulse and invigoration of these streams of new 
life, wnth the revival of the building trade, increased 
demands for farm produce, and enlarged social, re- 
ligious and educational facilities. 

POPULATION. 

1765 415 1860 1712 

1790 868 1870 1720 

1800 1047 1880 1603 

1810 1218 1890 1869 

1820 1584 1900 1966 

1830 1757 1905 2017 

1840 1673 1910 

1850 1772 

VITAL STATISTICS FOR 1908-09. « 

ions 1909 

Births 33 36 

Marriages .... 16 17 
Deaths 31 16 



ALL ABOUT XORTllFIliLD 



53 



MASSACHUSETTS DECENNIAL CENSUS OF 1905. 



NORTHFIELD. 

Native born, . 
Foreign born, 



Color and Race. 

White, .... 

Colored, .... 
Chinese, . . . . , 



Conjugal Condition. 

Single, 

Married, 

Widowed, 

Divorced, .... 
Unknown, 



-law. 



Families. 

Private families, 

Hotels, _ 

Institutions, etc., . . . . 
Average size, 

Private families. 

Hotels, _ 

Institutions, etc., 

REL.A.T10N TO HeAD OF FaMILY 

Heads, 

Wives, .... 
Fathers or mothers. 
Fathers or mothers-in-law. 
Grandmothers, 
Brothers or sisters. 
Brothers or sisters-in 
Sons or daughters. 
Adopted daughters, 
Sons or daiighters-in-law, 
Stepsons or daughters, 
Grandsons or daughters. 
Uncles or aunts. 
Nephews or nieces, . 
Cousins, .... 
Boarders and lodgers. 
Guests, .... 
Pupils, .... 

Students, .... 
Domestic servants, . 
Personal servants, 
Housekeepers, 
Assistants, 

Matrons, .... 
Hired men and boys. 
Visitors, .... 
Other relationships. 

Place of Birth 
Native born, . 
Foreign born. 



Males. 


Females. 


TOTAL 


772> 


1,244 


2,017 


685 


1,118 


1,803 


88 


126 


214 


773 


1,244 


2,017 


771 


1,244 


2,015 


1 


— 


1 


1 


— 


1 


772, 


1,244 


2,017 


399 


777 


1,176 


332 


338 


670 


34 


123 


157 


6 


6 


12 


2 


— 


2 


. 





454 


— 


— 


450 
2 


— 


— 


2 

4.44 


. — • 


— 


3.60 


— 


— 


12.00 


— 


— 


187.50 


77?, 


1,244 


2,017 


359 


103 


462 


— 


304 


304 


10 


24 


34 


1 


8 


9 


— 


2 


2 


11 


29 


40 


1 


10 


11 


238 


250 


488 


— 


5 


5 


1 


3 


4 


1 


2 


3 


10 


9 


19 


2 


2 


4 


4 


10 


14 


— 


1 


1 


84 


42 


126 


6 


— 


6 


— 


318 


318 


— 


21 


21 


6 


58 


64 


— 


3 


3 


— 


8 


8 


1 


24 


25 


— 


3 


3 


38 





38 


— 


1 


1 





4 


4 


* 






772, 


1,244 


2.017 


685 


1,118 


1,803 



126 



214 



54 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 



Parent ^Nativity. 

Native born, 

Foreign, born, .... 

PoLiTicAi, Condition. 
Ratable polls, .... 
Legal voters, 
Naturalized voters. 

Aliens, 

Males 20 years of age and over, 

Illiteracy. 

Native Born, 
Cannot write, .... 
Neither read nor write,-. 

Foreign born. 
Cannot write, .... 
Neither read nor write. 

Occupation. 

Government, 

Professional, 

Domestic service. 

Personal service, .... 

Trade, 

Transportation, .... 

Agriculture, 

Manufactures, .... 

Laborers, 

Laborers (farm). 

Apprentices, 

Children at work (10 to 15), 

Scholars, 

Students, 

Retired, ..... 
Unemployed twelve months. 

Dependents, 

At home, 

Not stated, 

Veterans and Militia. 

Civil war veterans, . 
Spanish war veterans, . 



Males. 


Females. 


Total 


773 


1,244 


2,017 


615 


993 


1,608 


158 


251 


409 


528 




528 


411 


— 


411 


26 


— 


26 


49 


— 


49 


529 


— 


529 


15 


7 


22 


1 


1 


2 


1 





1 


— 


1 


1 


14 


6 


20 


1 


3 


4 


13 


3 


16 


772, 


1,244 


2,017 


7 


4 


11 


14 


46 


60 


14 


503 


517 


18 


52 


70 


42 


15 


57 


47 


— 


47 


178 


— 


178 


97 


16 


113 


27 


— 


27 


80 


— 


80 


1 


— 


1 


6 


2 


8 


125 


163 


288 


2Z 


331 


354 


29 


21 


50 


— 


1 


1 


3 


3 


6 


59 


72, 


132 


3 


14 


17 


32 


— 


32 


27 


— 


27 


5 


— 


5 



NORTHFIELD'S GREATEST SON 
D. L. MOODY 




N 



D. L. MOODY IN 1894. 



( )NE of his neighbors 
will dispute the title 
of this chajjter. In 
an estimate of D. L. Moody 
as a citizen and neig'hl)or, 
published in the Greenfield 
Gazette and Courier at the 
time of his death, the corre- 
spondent said : 

"The old proverb, 'A 
prophet is not without honor 
save in his own country,' 
cannot be said of D. L. 
Moody, for surely no person 
could be more sincerely 
loved and honored by his 
townsmen than was he. Expressions of sorrow are 
heard from all classes. His townsmen have been 
proud of him as a citizen, as a man, and as a reli- 
gious worker. Although not all of them have en- 
dorsed his religious beliefs they have thoroughly 
believed in his honesty of purpose and sincerity, 
and are convinced that the results of his life work 
will be lasting and of inestimable value to future 
generations. They know that Northfield has been 
changed from a quiet farming town, with corre- 
sponding disadvantages, to a thrifty village with a 
steady growth ; and that here and at Mount Hermon 
have been established two of the best fitting schools 
in the state, all through the energy and perseverance 
of this man. Every effort has been made by him 
to bring these schools within the reach of the boys 
and girls of the town, and many ambitious fathers 
and mothers have been able to educate their chil- 
dren through his efforts. He was instantlv alert 



56 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

and ready with money and work to forward any 
plans to benefit the town. He was a kind neighbor, 
sickness and trouble finding him ready with sym- 
pathy and material help " 

The ten years that have elapsed since his home- 
call have endorsed the friendly sentiments and dis- 
criminating judgments expressed above. 

D. L. Moody is not only Northfield's greatest son, 
but he made the town famous. The place of his 
birth and later home has been raised to a command- 
ing position as a religious and educational centre 
of world-wide influence. 

He was a genuine product of Northfield and New 
England. The earliest record of the Moody family 
in America dates back to John Moody in 1633. He 
settled first in Roxbury, Mass., and later became one 
of the original proprietors of Hartford, Conn. Later 
yet he moved to Hadley, Mass., at a time when this 
was still the frontier of white man's civilization in 
the Connecticut valley. The first Moody to come 
to Northfield was Isaiah, who first appears as a land- 
holder on April 13, 1797, when he bought four acres 
north of the Winchester Road, near Main Street. 
The eldest of his seven sons was Edwin, father of 
D. L. 

On his mother's side Mr. Moody belonged to the 
Holtons, whose ancestors landed in America in 1630. 
For over 200 years the Holtons have been identified 
with Northfield. His mother, Betsy Holton, was 
born in the Holton homestead on Bennett's Hill. 

His parents w^ere married on January 3, 1828, and 
lived on the home-lot on Aloody Street, now usually 
called "D. L. Moody's Birthplace." They owned 
an acre or two of land, and his father, like his grand- 
father, was a mason. Nine children were born in 
the family, of whom Dwight Lyman Ryther was the 
sixth, born on February 5, 1837. 

The father died on May 28, 1841, leaving his 
widow and young ones in very trying circumstances. 
The memories of his mother's bravery in keeping 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 



57 



:iF»"»inUi) avrrorU. 



/' 






L; ,r.. 






/•■ / 



n 






/I 







'/<^ 



/ 



3^- 






/ - 



A Page from the Moody Family Bible. 

the family together, of the kindness of Mr. Everett, 
then pastor of the Unitarian Church (to which the 
Moodys belonged at that time), and of the help of 
certain relatives and neighbors in their privations 
were powerful in their formative influence upon 
Mr. Moody's character, making him a good neigh- 
bor, always ready to assist the poor, the needy, the 
sick. 



58 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

His early life differed in no wise from that of the 
boys who grew up with him. During winter he 
attended the district school, then located on Main 
Street directly across from his late home. In the 
summer he "hired out." He earned his first money 
by turning the neighbors' cows out to pasture on 
the hillsides, receiving a cent a day as wages. 

In one of the rooms in his birthplace there still 
exist the old family Bible and a book of devotions, 
comprising contemplations and prayers, which, with 
a catechism, were the Widow Moody's only books. 

Nothing that has been recalled of his boyhood 
gives reason to anticipate the large things that fol- 
lowed in his life spiritually. But his leadership of 
boy comrades, his love of harmless fun, his fondness 
for practical jokes, his kindheartedness, and other 
elements of character constituted material for the 
making of a great and good man. 

In 1854, aged seventeen, he left Northfield in quest 
of larger opportunities. His elder brother, Isaiah, 
was at work in Clinton, Mass., and D wight went 
there and got a job in a bookstore and printing shop. 
Later he went to Boston, where his uncle, Samuel 
Holton, employed him in his shoe store. He was 
led to accept Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord 
in 1856, through the personal efforts of his Sunday 
school teacher, Edward Kimball ; and here began 
the abiding usefulness of D. L. Moody. He went to 
Chicago in September, 1856, ambitious to make a 
fortune in the great West. And he was achieving 
his purpose, when God gave him a taste for soul- 
winning in 1860 in connection with the Sunday 
school work he was voluntarily engaged in. He 
relinquished business and thereafter devoted all his 
time to Christian work. 

The years that followed were crowded with mis- 
sionary labors in Chicago, first in his Sunday school, 
then in the Y. M. C. A., then in the independent 
church which grew out of these ; finally in enlarging 
spheres of evangelistic and Bible teaching work in 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 59 

this country and England, until the wonderful 
British campaigns of 1873-75 made the names of 
Moody and Sankey household words around the 
world. 

Returning to this country his first desire was to 
see his aged mother and folks. His Chicago home 
had been burned in the great fire of 1871. 

With the change in his work, which now took him 
from city to city during the winter months holding 
meetings, what more natural in such a man than 
that he should decide to make his permanent home 
and spend his summers here near his mother, study- 
ing and preparing for his winter campaigns? The 
Elisha Alexander place, a rather barren tract of 
twelve acres stretching from Main Street to Win- 
chester Road and adjoining his mother's lot, hap- 
pened to be for sale at a moderate price : so he 
bought it. It was his only home until his death. 

Looking around today on the Seminary property, 
with its increasing foliage and well-kept grounds, 
studded w^ith a score of halls and dormitories, one 
can hardly believe that thirty years ago this w^as 
nothing but sand hills ! But many are yet living 
who would say that the place "wouldn't raise white 
beans" in those days. The desert has blossomed as 
the rose. And what a happy setting the Northfield 
work of Mr. Moody acquired in the providence of 
God, fronting on the rich valley of the Connecticut, 
backed by the wooded hills, and with the foothills of 
the Green Mountains piled one behind another on 
the w^estern horizon ! 

Northfield Seminary for young women was for- 
mally opened on November 3, 1879. 

Mount Hermon School for young men was pro- 
jected the same year, and opened for instruction 
on May 4, 1881. 

The first General Conference for Christian Work- 
ers was held in 1880. 

The first World's Student Conference was held 
in 1886 at Mount Hermon. 



60 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

The Northfield Training School for women (now 
a department of the Seminary) was opened in 1890. 

The first Women's Conference was organized in 
1893. 

The General Eastern Depot of the Bible Insti- 
tute Colportage Association of Chicago was opened 
in 1895., and the Bookstore building erected. 

Camp Northfield, for men, was organized in 1896. 

Mr. Moody left Northfield on November 8. 1899, 
for his last evangelistic campaign in Kansas City, 
Mo. Neither he nor his friends realized the weak- 
ened condition of his heart, which had been irregu- 
lar for years and which broke under the strain on 
Thursday, November 16. He reached home on the 
19th, and was confined to the house until the end 
came on December 22. The funeral and interment 
were on December 26. His mortal remains were 
laid to rest on Round Top. The simple headstone 
bears the inscription : 

DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY 
February 5, 1837 December 22, 1899 

"He that doeth the will of God 
abideth for ever." (1 John 2:17.) 

The story of D. L. Moody's life is not complete 
unless mention is made of his wife. He married 
Emma Charlotte Revell of Chicago in 1862. As a 
girl she displayed that sweet, saintly character 
which ripened and richened as the years went by. 
No man ever had a truer helpmeet. Equally loyal 
to her Lord as he, she complemented the impulsive- 
ness and brusqueness of her husband, and was his 
most trusted companion and adviser. They had 
three children : Emma Reynolds, William Revell, 
and Paul Dwight. Her home was Mrs. Moody's 
first care : and the children loved home best of all, 
while a wide circle of friends also enjoyed its cor- 
dial Christian hospitality. But Mrs. Moody had a 
level head and an extensive experience which made 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 61 

her judgment of great value in her husband's reh- 
gious and educational work. The neighbors saw 
more of her than of him perhaps, and in many a 
cottage she is lovingly remembered as the dispenser 
of their joint bounty. 

Mrs. Moody joined her husband on October 10, 
1903, and by her request was buried beside him on 
Round Top. The headstone of her grave says : 

EMMA C. REVELL 
Wife of Dvvight Lyman Moody 

July 5, 1843 October 10, 1903 

"His servants shall serve Him, 
and thev shall see His face." 

(Revelation 22:3, 4.) 



THE NORTHFIELD SCHOOLS 



IF your driver is well enough informed he can 
point out a lonely house on the Gulf Road 
which is the birthplace of Mr. Moody's final 
resolution to start his school work. He was driving 
past here one day in 1875 with a friend, and noticed 
the mother and two daughters braiding straw hats 
for their support. The father was a helpless paraly- 
tic. But he was an educated man, and his daughters 
had ambitions that reached beyond their present 
narrow horizon. The sense of privation and isola- 
tion they were compelled to endure touched Mr. 
Moody's heart, gave direction to several influences 
and yearnings in his soul, and soon led to the ful- 
filment of his purpose to found a school. 

NORTHFIELD SEMINARY. 

Sixteen acres in front of Mr. Moody's home were 
purchased in the fall of 1878 as a site for the school, 
and in the course of a year three or four other Jots 
were acquired, until a hundred acres were on hand. 
In the spring of 1879 the erection of a brick recita- 
tion hall intended for a hundred students was begun 
on the site of Revell Hall. With characteristic 
haste Mr. Moody could not wait for a dormitory to 
be built, but made over the upper story of the rear 
ell of his own house, dividing it into ten small 
rooms.. Instead of eight pupils expected, twenty-five 
appeared : among them one of the girls who had 
been braiding straw hats on the hillside four years 
before, and who won a place in the first class of 
twelve students that was graduated in 1884. With 
these twenty-five Northfield Seminary was for- 
mally opened on November 3, 1879. Classes were 
held in Mr. Moody's dining room until the recitation 



ALL ABOUT XORTIIPIRLD 63 

hall was completed a month later. Ground was 
broken for East Hall in April, 1880. From these be- 
ginnings the school has grown until the enrollment 
of students each year is about 475, with a staff of 
fift}^ teachers and matrons, and the property includes 
over 500 acres with the following buildings : 

Stone Hall, used for recitations. The first floor 
is given up to classrooms. An assembly hall oc- 
cupies the centre of the second floor, with botanical 
laboratory and study rooms in the wings, separat- 
ed by drop doors. The summer conferences met in 
this hall after outgrowing the old Congregational 
Church down the street, until the Auditorium was 
built; and here Drummond's "Greatest Thing in the 
World" and other famous addresses were first de- 
livered. Its tower holds the Seminary clock. Built 
of native feldspathic granite in 1884-85, at a cost of 
$40,000. The clock was added in 1888. 

Russell Sage Chapel, the gift of Mrs. Russell 
Sage ; stated cost, $100,000. Dedicated in June, 
1909. Built of Rockport granite, with nave and 
transepts. Seating capacity, 1000. This beautiful 
building not only serves the Seminary for daily 
chapel and Sunday evening meetings, but is also 
used as an alternative hall during the summer con- 
ferences. The view from the tower is worth while. 

Home Science Hall, the gift of the Misses Mary 
and Elizabeth Billings of New York. Dedicated in 
June, 1908. This hall contains sewing rooms, cook- 
ing laboratories and other facilities for the House- 
hold Science and Household Art departments ; also 
chemical and physical laboratories, recitation rooms 
and the offices of the principal. 

Talcott Library, the gift of James Talcott of New 
York. Built in 1887 of granite, with brownstone 
trimmings ; cost $20,000. The library contains over 
7000 volumes. The reading room is supplied with 
the leading magazines and periodicals. Thomas 



64 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

Newberry's model of Solomon's Temple, worth 
$3500, presented to Mr. Moody in 1884, is kept up- 
stairs with other objects of interest and instruction. 

Skinner Gymnasium, the gift of William Skinner 
of Holyoke in 1895. The floor space is 100x50 
feet. A running track suspended from the roof 
forms a gallery encircling the hall. The most ap- 
proved Swedish, German and American gymnastic 
appliances have been installed, while the lower floor 
contains a bowling alley, swimming tank, dressing 
rooms, lockers and baths." The instructor's office is 
on the main floor, and overhead is a room used by 
the Young AVomen's Christian Association. 

Margaret Olivia Music Hall, also the gift of Mrs. 
Russell Sage, and dedicated in June, 1909. Cost, 
$50,000. It contains a hall for chorus classes and 
musicals, studios for the music teachers, and practice 
rooms. 

The Auditorium, erected in 1894, primarily for the 
summer conferences, but used also by the Seminary 
for large gatherings, concerts and commencement 
exercises. Seating capacity, 2500. A splendid view 
in all directions is obtained from the towers. The 
building is often crowded in August, and overflow 
meetings held. 

Marquand Hall, named in memory of Frederick 
Alarquand of Xew York, the gift of D. W. Mc- 
Williams. Accommodates ninety students. Erected 
in 1884. Cost, $67,000. 

East Hall, the first dormitory, erected in 1880. 
Paid for out of hymn-book royalties at a cost of 
$36,000. Accommodates over sixty students. 

Betsey Moody Cottage, named after Mr. Moody's 
mother. Partially equipped as a hospital. 

Weston Hall, the gift of David M. Weston of 
Boston in 1886, at that time president of the board 




Stone 
Hall. 



Home Science 
Hall. 



Russell Sage 
Chapel. 




Music 
Hall. 



Talcott 
Library. 



Skinner 
G^^mnasium. 



northfield seminary buildings, with tents erected for 
Conference Visitors. 



66 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

of trustees. Accommodates over fortv students. 
Cost, $25,000. 

Moore Hall, on the corner of Moody Street and 
Highland Avenue, the gift of Mrs. Frederick Bil- 
lings of New York in 1902, and named in honor of 
Henry AI. ]\Ioore of Boston, long president of the 
board of trustees. Accommodates oyer thirty stu- 
dents. 

Revell Hall, on INIain Street, named in honor of 
Mrs. D. L. Moody's mother. Originally the first 
recitation hall, but sold for a private residence, and 
afterward repurchased and remodeled at different 
times. It is the residence of the principal, and also 
accommodates twenty-five students. 

Holton Hall, directly west of Revell Hall, named 
in honor of Miss Fanny C. Holton of AA^est North- 
field, one of the early teachers. Accommodates 
twenty students. 

Hillside Cottage, east of the Auditorium. Ac- 
commodates twenty students. Acquired in 1886. 

Bonar Hall, on Alain Street, at the top of Pau- 
chaug Hill, was named in honor of Rev. Andrew 
Bonar, D. D., of Glasgow. 

The value of these buildings, with the central 
lighting and heating plant, steam laundry, farm 
and other buildings comprised in the Seminary real 
estate and property, amounts to over $600,000. 

Four thousand, five hundred and forty-one stu- 
dents have been enrolled in all, up to 1910. 

The Seminary motto, selected by Mr. Moody him- 
self, is Isaiah 27 : 3 — "I the Lord do keep it ; I will 
water it every moment ; lest any hurt it I will keep 
it night and day." 

The school is in session from September to June. 
Three courses are ofifered : College Preparatory, 
which enables a student to enter any of the leading 
colleges on certificate; General, which afi^ords more 



ALL ABOrr XORTIf FIELD 



67 




Miss Evelyn Sarah Hall, Principal of 
northfield seminary. 



scope for electives ; and English, which omits 
languages and gives opportunity for more extended 
work in science, history and literature. 

Candidates for admission to the school buildings 
must be at least fifteen years of age. Preference is 
given to young women of good character and ability, 
of limited means and limited opportunities of edu- 
cation at home. For two years past "The North- 
field" hotel has been used to accommodate girls who 
can afford to pay the full cost of board and tuition. 



68 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

There have been only three principals since the 
Seminary opened : Harriet W. Tuttle, 1879-82 ; 
Emma Frances Angell, 1882-83 ; and Evelyn S. Hall, 
who entered upon the office in 1883, and whose bril- 
liant administration, now lasting twenty-seven 
years, has witnessed the growth and progress of the 
school to its present useful position. 

MOUNT HERMON SCHOOL. 

Boys were about as numerous and needy in 
Northfield and elsewhere as girls, and it was not like 
Mr, Moody to overlook them. He remembered too 
well his own meagre training in the district school, 
with the limitations it involved in certain ways all 
his life. No sooner, therefore, was the Semmary 
under way than he began on a corresponding school 
for boys. A farm of 175 acres across the river was 
secured in November, 1879. A year later, when 
Hiram Camp of New Haven, Conn., promised a 
contribution of $25,000 to carry on the project, an 
adjoining farm of a hundred acres was bought. 
These two original purchases amounted to $13,385. 
The two farmhouses were changed over somewhat, 
and the school opened on the arrival of the first boys 
on May 4, 1881. At Mr. Camp's suggestion the 
name ''Mount Hermon" was adopted, ''for there the 
Lord commanded the blessing, even life for ever- 
more" (Psalm 133:3). The Indian name of the 
locality was "Massapetot's land," he being the Pa- 
comptock sachem and warrior from whom it was 
purchased at the time of the first settlement of 
Northfield. 

The beauty of its setting rivals that of its sister 
school. 

Additional tracts of land have increased the school 
holdings to over 1036 acres. The buildings include : 

Recitation Hall, a brick building, 80 x 50 feet, 
three stories and basement, opened on May 20, 1885. 
Contains recitation rooms, the lil^rary and reading 



ALL ABOUT NORTllLUiLD 69 

room. Before the erection of the chapel the upper 
floor had an assemhly hall. It was in that hall that 
the sessions of the first Student Conference were 
held in 1886, and in another room will be found a 
bronze tablet with this inscription : 

"In this room, in the month of July, 1886, 
during" the First International Student 
Conference, the Student Volunteer Move- 
ment had its origin, and 100 young men 
signified their willingness and desire, God 
permitting, to become foreign missiona- 
ries." 

An oil painting of modern Jerusalem, ''Sunset on 
Jerusalem," is in the library, where other pictures 
showing the growth of the school will interest the 
visitor. 

Silliman Laboratory, the gift of Horace B. Silli- 
man of Cohoes, N. Y. ; dimensions 102 x 52 feet. It 
contains laboratories for physics, chemistry, biology, 
and agriculture, recitation rooms, and a lecture hall 
seating 234. The museum, a large mechanical 
drawing room, scientific reference library and read- 
ing room, and the office of the vice principal, are also 
in this building. In the basement are the workshop, 
storeroom, electrical testing room and an electric 
light plant. No iron was used in the structure, so as 
not to interfere with fine magnetic experiments. 

Holbrook Hall, the administration building, 
erected in memory of George E. Holbrook of Keene, 
N. H., w^as the gift of Mrs. George E. Holbrook and 
her two sons, William and Edward, both graduates 
of the school. The building is of brick, with gray 
stone trimmings, and contains the offices of the 
principal, secretary, cashier and buyer. On the sec- 
ond floor is the trustee and faculty room, the office of 
the Alumni Association secretary, and several other 
offices. In this building also is the school post- 
office. 



70 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

Memorial Chapel, a conspicuous object for miles 
up and down the valley, is built on an eminence that 
Mr. Moody playfully called "Temptation Hill," in 
the hope that some friend of the school might some 
day be tempted to give money for the erection of a 
chapel. But as the hint was not taken, the sixtieth 
anniversary of his birthday (1897) was made the oc- 
casion of raising funds among his friends in this 
country and England who wished to share in this 
tribute of love and confidence. Built of native gran- 
ite, Gothic style, the chapel is 110x65 feet in di- 
mensions, with 50-foot dome, and spacious vestibule 
at the east front. Seating capacity, 1000. A mag- 
nificent view of the school campus, the Connecticut 
valley and surrounding hills as far as Mount Monad- 
nock, is obtained from the clock and bell tower. 
Though erected expressly as a memorial of his six- 
tieth birthday anniversary Mr. Aloody would not al- 
low this fact to be mentioned on the bronze tablet 
in the eastern vestibule, which therefore reads as 
follows : 



"This chapel was erected by the united 
contributions of Christian friends in 
Great Britain and the United States, for 
the glory of God and to be a perpetual 
witness to their unity in the service of 
Christ." 



Bronze mural tablets near the platform record the 
names of students who have died on the foreign 
field. The drinking fountain on the north approach 
was erected by former students and friends in mem- 
ory of Harriet Ford (Mrs. Henry F.) Cutler, long 
and usefully identified with the school's progress. 

The Mount Hermon Church organization, 
formed in 1899, is evangelical and Scriptural in its 
articles of faith, and unsectarian in spirit. Students 
are invited to join on confession of faith and by 
letter while here. The pastor of the Congregational 
Church of Northfield is regarded as its pastor, and 




Holbrook 
Hall. 



Recitation 
Hall. 



Silliuian 
Laboratory 




Memorial Chapel. 



Mount Hermon school Buildings. 



72 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

preaches one Sunday in every month. On other 
occasions the pulpit is supplied by visiting ministers 
and Christian workers. The nucleus of this church 
was formed by the withdrawal of Mount Hermon 
members from the Northfield church. 

West Hall, the new^ dining hall, dedicated on Feb- 
ruary 5, 1909. A commodious hall, built in Ionic 
style, with seating capacity of 1000, and equipped 
with modern facilities for good service. The gift of 
Mrs. William E. Dodge of New York. 

The Gymnasium, on the east side of the athletic 
field, 124 x 54 feet, with white marble trimmings 
and Doric order of architecture. The main floor is 
120 X 50 feet, and there is a continuous running 
track upstairs, and a smaller exercise room over the 
entrance and offices. The basement contains bath- 
ing facilities, a swimming pool, 64 x 20 feet, and 
capacity for 1000 lockers. Dedicated in 1910. 

Crossley Hall, erected in 1885 and named in 
memory of the son of Frank W. Crossley of Man- 
chester, England, a liberal supporter of the school 
in its early days. Four stories, with dormitory 
accommodations for about 175 students, and parlors. 

Overtoun Hall, named in honor of Lord Overtoun 
of Scotland, a true friend and supporter of Mr. 
Moody. Erected in 1898. Accommodates about 
116 students. 

Dwight's Home, the school hospital, originally 
built by W. R. Moody for his home, and named in 
memory of his son, Dwight Lyman IL, on its acqui- 
sition by the school in 1899. Contains sixteen 
rooms, of which several have been fitted up by 
different friends as memorial wards. 

The Brick Cottages were among the first build- 
ings erected (1882-83), and recall the early days 
when the ages of the boys ran from eight to twelve 
years, and when the cottage plan of smaller families 



ALL ABOUT NORrilFI LLI) 



73 



of a dozen boys in charge of matrons and teachers 
was in operation. The north cottage is the prin- 
cipal's residence, while the lady teachers and a few 
students occupy the others. Cottage I., next to 
Memorial Chapel, is called London House, having 
been originally occupied b}- boys from London, 
England; Cottage II., Monadnock House, because 
Mount Monadnock is plainly visible; Cottage III., 
Music House; Cottage IV., Hubbard House, in 
honor of the first principal of the school ; Cottage 
v., Manchester House, having been originally 
occupied by a dozen boys from Manchester, 
England. 

Old Dining Hall, opened in 1886. It has not yet 
been assigned to other uses than for assemblies, etc. 

In addition to the foregoing, the Hermon plant 
includes an athletic field, farmhouses, teachers' 
cottages, central lighting and heating plant, steam 
laundry, canning factory, pumping station and 
reservoir, and other in- 
dustrial and farm build- 
a total of fifty- 
Total estimated 
worth. $790,000. 
Present endowment and 
invested fund, $847,0(X). 

Mount Hermon School 
is open all the year 
around, the plan of three 
terms of four months 
each having been initiat- 
ed in 1900. The instruc- 
tion given is of the high- 
est efficiency, and the 
principal's certificate ad- 
mits without examina- 
tion to colleges accept- 
ing secondary school ,, ^ ^, 

^ -^ D, L. MOODV AND PKINCII'AI, 

certiticates. henrv franklin cutler. 



mgs, 

seven. 

present 




74 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

Applicants for admission must be at least sixteen 
years old. Only those who have good character, 
earnest purpose and small means are considered. 

The annual enrollment is now about 800, with a 
staff of thirty teachers and other officials. The total 
number of students enrolled up to 1910 is 6204. 

The first class was graduated on June 28, 1887. 
It consisted of five members, among whom was 
D. L. Moody's elder son, W. R. Moody. 

Three principals have been in charge of the 
school since its inception : E. A. Hubbard, 1883- 
84; Henry E. Sawyer, 1884-90; Henry E. Cutler, 
1890, the present incumbent, whose tenure of the 
position has witnessed the maturing of Mr. Moody's 
plans and the wonderful growth and progress of 
the school. 



CHARACTER AND ADVANTAGES OF THESE 
SCHOOLS. 

There are certain principles and practices not 
found in all schools which have stood the test of 
over thirty years here, and which embody Mr. 
Moody's special aims and intentions. They may be 
briefly stated thus : 

(1) The English Bible is foundational, the para- 
mount instrument of character building and culture. 
Denominational interpretations are not emphasized, 
however. 

(2) Industrial and domestic work is obligatory 
upon all students daily, on the farm or in the build- 
ings, under the supervision of the officials, not for 
economy of administration alone, but so as to incul- 
cate right views of manual labor, to form habits of 
industry and cultivate a spirit of mutual helpfulness. 

(3) The school fees for board and tuition are 
fixed at fifty dollars a term, with a few extras. This 
low rate brings the advantages within reach of many 
who can not raise or earn more, l3ut it is less than 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FILL/) 75 

half the actual cost. The balance is raised through 
the contributions of friends of the work. 

(4) The schools are decidedly Christian in pur- 
pose, though not sectarian, l^he religious privileges 
are the highest and l)est. The ])ersonal influence 
of consecrated teachers counts for much. A sincere 
effort is made to induce all the students to recog- 
nize Jesus Christ as personal Saviour and Lord, 
although there is no compulsion in this. 

The product of such principles and practices, 
added to the refining and enno1)ling efifect of beau- 
tiful natural surroundings and the high quality of 
the educational, literary and athletic advantages 
ofTered, will be seen at a glance by anyone who 
visits the schools or follows up the record of former 
students. Probably few schools as large as these 
contain so few undesirable characters, and so many 
fine ones — earnest, industrious, capable and pur- 
poseful young men and women. 

These, with the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago 
(for training lay Christian workers), are evidence of 
their founder's constructive genius, and are writing 
his posthumous history in so far as they continue 
to represent him. 

Each institution is incorporated under the laws of 
Massachusetts, and is governed by a board of 
trustees elected annually. Mr. Moody's elder son, 
AY. R. Moody, is recognized as executive head of 
the Northfield schools and conferences, with his 
cousin, A. G. Moody, as business manager. A 
comparative statement regarding the schools today 
and wdien Mr. Moody went home in 1899 would 
show marked increase and progress in enrollment 
and assets. 



THE NORTHFIELD CONFER- 
ENCES 

SINCE 1880 Northfield has been the home of 
reHgious conventions that bring thousands 
of visitors here from all parts of this and 
other lands every year, while a summer colony of 
'^conference people" is rapidly dotting the slopes 
of Strowbridge Hill and Notch Mountain with rustic 
cottages. 

Mr. Moody himself was undoubtedly the great 
attraction, as he was the central figure, at the con- 
ventions while he was alive. Yet the natural sur- 
roundings add much to the pleasure of visitors. 
The close proximity of river and wood, valley and 
hill, far from the madding crowd, makes Northfield 
an ideal place for gatherings that attain their best 
results in quiet and meditation. In this environ- 
ment attendance at meetings, even during the heat 
of July and August, is not wearisome. 

Other factors that give Northfield the confidence 
of the Christian world and attract the best people 
here for religious instruction are catholicity of 
teaching, based upon loyalty to the Bible as God's 
Word ; the ability, learning and high character of 
the speakers ; the earnestness and spirituality of 
the Christian fellowship ; its practical character, 
never tending to cant or formalism, but issuing in 
genuine consecration and unselfish service. 

In Mr. Moody's lifetime the two regular gather- 
ings were the General Conference for Christian 
Workers in August, and the Student Conference 
in June-July. The summer program now includes 
a Young Women's Conference, a Women's Home 
Missionary Conference, a Summer School for Sun- 
day School Workers, a Summer School for 
AVomen's Foreign Missionary Societies, all in July, 
more or less concurrent in dates ; while Post Con- 



ALL ABOUT NORTIILIllLD 



77 




The Auditorium. 



ference addresses and Bible lectures extend the 
season into September. Camp Northfield also 
offers distinctive attractions during July and 
August. 

GENERAL CONFERENCE FOR CHRISTIAN 
WORKERS. 

This conference begins on the Friday before the 
first Sunday in August, and closes on the third 
Sunday. It is the most distinctive as well as the 
largest of all. 

It was Mr. Moody's custom to invite neighbors 
and visitors on Sunday and certain week nights to 
Bible readings in his home, just as he had previously 
done in his Chicago home. The attendance often 
crowded the house, and chairs were required on the 
porches. As soon as the Seminary buildings began 
to rise he decided to get a second dividend by using 
them during vacation to house conference visitors. 
Indeed, before East Hall was finished he used it 
for the parent conference during the first ten days 



78 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

of September, 1880. About 300 attended that con- 
ference, including a delegation from Great Britain 
and individuals from other lands. Some camped 
out in tents, others sought accommodations in the 
village homes. Unused garrets were called into 
requisition. The dawn of a new era had arrived 
for the town ! 

The great meetings in the Auditorium are the 
most prominent features of these conferences, being 
usually held forenoon, afternoon and evening. Less 
formal, but not less profitable, gatherings are held 
on Round Top in the afternoons and at sundown, 
or in Sage Chapel. Distinguished preachers, Bible 
teachers and Christian workers from all lands afford 
a wide variety of interest to the daily programs. 

The attendance now averages 2500 daily. W. R. 
Moody has issued the call and presided at the plat- 
form meetings since his father's death. 

STUDENT CONFERENCES FOR MEN. 

Richard C. Morse, C. K. Ober and Luther D. 
Wishard, three leaders in the work of the Inter- 
national Committee of Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciations, were in Northfield for study and retire- 
ment during the summer of 1885, when Mr. Moody 
drove them over to Blount Hermon, showed them 
the school buildings, then new, and suggested these 
as a convenient place for a Young Men's Christian 
Association conference every year. The suggestion 
took final shape in plans for a conference of college 
students which Mr. Wishard worked out during the 
ensuing winter. Beginning on July 7, 1886, the 
conference was held, lasting twenty-six days, Avith 
251 delegates representing eighty-nine institutions 
in the United States and Canada. 

Since 1887 the conference has met in Northfield, 
where the facilities and accommodations are better 
than at Mount Hermon. It is timed to convene at 
the close of the collegiate year in June, and lasts 



ALL ABOUT NORTI I I'l liLD 



79 



ten days. Mornings are devoted to Bible and mis- 
sion' study classes, culminating" in a platform meet- 
ing in the Auditorium ; afternoons to recreation ; 
evenings to meetings on Round Top at sunset and 
later in the Auditorium. 

These gatherings have given birth to twin move- 
ments among college men and women, whose in- 
fluences in the cause of Christ are continually in- 
creasing. On one hand, the conference idea has 
spread through this and other lands under the 
leadership of John R. Mott, who has presided at 



iiv I HIS, ROOM MM THE IVIONTH OF 

JULY 18 86 

DURING THE 

I First Ihternatiohal Student Conference 

THE 

STUDENT VOLUNTEEB yOVEMENT 

HAD ITS ORiCjN, AND 100 YOU?;C WEN SlCNlFjECJ 
THEIR WILUNGNESS AND DESIRE. GOD PERMITTING. 
^0 8EC0ME FOREJCN yiSSIOHABIES "[ 



Student Volunteer Tablet, Recitation Hall, 
Mount Hermon School. 



the Northfield Student Conference since Mr. Moody 
died, giving new impulse and direction to Christian 
work among college students and leading to the 
formation of the World's Student Christian Federa- 
tion. On the other hand, we have the Student Vol- 
unteer Movement, which had its genesis at the first 
convention in 1886, when the enthusiasm for foreign 
missions culminated before it closed in a hundred 
men signifying that they were willing and desirous 
(God permitting) to become foreign missionaries 
— one of the greatest missionary revivals in history ! 
In 1888 this movement was organized independ- 
ently, but its representatives arc at Northfield 



80 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 




D. L. Moody Addressing the Campers. 



during the Student Conference and promote the 
missionary interests. 

The attendance of delegates the past few years 
has reached as high as 922, representing 138 institu- 
tions. The success of the conference idea has led 
the International Committee to start conferences 
at other convenient points so as to cover the college 
field more thoroughly. 



CAMP NORTHFIELD. 

Not satisfied with all the other streams he had 
set in motion, Mr. Moody projected this camp 
amidst the pines on the slopes of Strowbridge Hill, 
where young men from the cities might come for 
a week or two in the summer and get outdoor life 
at moderate expense. It was opened on July 9, 
1895. 

The season now runs through July and August, 
with total attendance of about 700. The campers 
take in all the meetings they wish, and spend the 
rest of the time in tramps among the woods, in 
games or whatever their fancy pleases. 



UP MAIN STREET 

THE easiest way to locate the historic associa- 
tions referred to in preceding chapters as 
well as existing" objects of interest is to take 
a trip up Main Street with eyes open. 

Let us begin at the lower (or south) end, where 
River Street bends ofit to the west. lUit before 
facing northward let us look around. 

Miller's Brook, the southern limit of the original 
settlement and formerly the scene of many milling 
activities, is just below us in the ravine. IWyond 
lie Three Meadows on the river bank, with Beers' 
Plain running back to the hills on the left. Mount 
Hermon School buildings stand out clearly visible 
on the hillside two miles as the 'crow flies to the 
southwest — at night the lights give a very pretty 
effect across the valley. Bennett's Meadow is 
across the river to the right, rising to Bennett's 
Hill, formerly the site of the Indian village of 
Natanis. All around us the place is also full of 
Indian history and legend. Along the high ground 
w^here we stand the wngwams of Ouanatock once 
clustered. 

The highway runs south to Northfield Farms and 
Millers Falls. 

River Street leads under the Central Vermont 
tracks, across Great Meadow, and over Bennett's 
Meadow Bridge to Mount Hermon, Bernardston, 
Gill, Turners Falls and Greenfield. 

On the right, as we begin to move north, stands 
a large granite boulder whose inscription takes us 
back 2^7 years : 

"Here under a large oak, standing until 
1869, the first public religious services in 
this town were held in 1673." 

The ancient oak in question was. burnt as a result 
of Fourth of July pranks. 





J PROCTOh BLOCK 
i;.. LIVERY iJjSTOKE 

5.C01INCIL ROCK 

t OAK TREE 
MEMORIAL 



"STORE 



^ jif I ^^AI'LE ST 



1 »w 




f NORTHFIELD 






_229L*r 



River ST 



J 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 



83 




A Glimpse of Main Street. 



Reaching the top of the rise we see the splendid 
stretch of Main Street, macadamized as far as Mill 
Brook with the cooperation of the State Highway 
Commission in 1902 — a distance of 6109 feet, costing 
about $10,000. The four rows of maples and elms 
afford continuous shade nearly all the way, and con- 
stitute a broad avenue seldom equaled for such a 
length. The oldest of them are a useful standing 
monument to the memory of Thomas Power of 
Boston, who practiced law in Northfield in 1812-15, 
and interested himself in setting out these trees. 

Main Street is about two miles long to its upper 
end in East Northfield. This southerly end is ten rods 
(165 feet) wide, and about coincides with the high- 
way that constituted the original settlement, and 
affords a splendid specimen of the New England 



Beautiful Northfield 

A SUMMER HOME NOW 

A PERMANENT HOME LATER 



^ Farms, houses, apartments, summer 
cottages in Northfield and surrounding 
villages for sale and rent. Several 
good business opportunities. Send for 
bulletin containing descriptions. 

^ Exclusive sale of lots in Mountain 
Park and Northfield Highlands. 
Cottages built on these fine lots over- 
looking the mountains, the river and 
the Seminary buildings. Prices rea- 
sonable, and absolute deeds sfiven. 



fe 



^ Special representative Rustic Ridge 
Association. Rustic Ridge cottages, 
like the bungalows in Mountain Park 
and on Northfield Highlands, have 
broad verandas, are comfortably fur- 
nished, and have purest mountain 
spring water in kitchen and bath room. 
Some are entirely surrounded by pines, 
and some have a fine outlook on the 
mountains. Rent from $60 to $250 for 
the season. 

ELLIOTT W. BROWN 

TELEPHONES 4-5 and 37-3 

PROCTOR BLOCK : : NORTHFIELD, MASS. 



ALL ABOUT NORTllUIliLD 



85 



village type. Here the home lots were laid out in 
generous slices, and the settlers lived. Changes 
have come so fast of recent years that it would be 
hard to disentangle the ancient landmarks, while 
even the names of the earlier holders would be 
known only to the older residents. Many of the lot 
lines might perhaps be traced by the help of deeds, 
but the original lots have been divided and sub- 
divided, and the ownership has changed many times. 

Among the residences that line the street on 
either side, well separated from each other, set 
back beyond their lawns and with few fences to 
deprive the passerby of the sight of the green- 
sward and shrubs and flowers, we shall observe 
the square, substantial buildings of colonial days, 
also some pillared porticoes that recall a striking 
style of classic architecture now^ gone by. Every 
old house has an interesting story. The Janes 
house on the left was built by Deacon Ebenezer 
Janes at the close of the last French War (about 
17G0). The land in 
the vicinity has been 
in the family since 
the first grants. 

Soon we notice on 
the left a granite 
monument with this 
inscription of triple 
interest : 

"Here, enclosed by 
a stockade, the first 
settlement of the 
town was made in 
1673. Nine rods 
west a fort was 
built in 1685, rebuilt 
in 1722. Eight rods 
south stood Coun- 
cil Rock." 

Council Rock was a huge lump of pudding stone 
that cropped out in the middle of the street, three 
feet above the general level of the ground, thirty 




Stockade Memorial, Main Street. 



JUST AROUND THE CORNER 

IN WEBSTER BLOCK 

You will find a complete line of Men's 
Suits and Furnishings ; the "Douglas" 
and "American Gentleman" Shoes for 
Men; the "Queen Quality," "Boston 
Favorite" and "American Lady" Shoes 
for Women. Guaranteed Hose for 
Men, Ladies and Children. The very 
best goods at reasonable prices. No 
trouble to show goods. Money back 
if not suited. 

CHARLES C. STEARNS 



Cement Block Garage 

Livery Work, Storage, Supplies and 
Repairs at reasonable prices. Baseball 
and Tennis Goods, Bicycles and Sup- 
plies, Fishing Tackle. Pocket Electric 
Lights and Batteries. Lock and Gun- 
smith Work. Lawn Mowers, Lawn 
Mower Grinding and Repairing of all 
kinds. :::::: 

TELEPHONE 4-2 

N. W. KEET, Northfield, Massachusetts 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 87 

feet long- and twenty feet wide, with a flat top. 
"Here the old men used to gather on summer 
evening's to hear the news, discuss politics and tell 
stories ; and the boys were on hand to listen or 
play." The travelecl way formerly ran on the east 
side of the rock, which was blasted away in 1821, 
and still more when the state road was built : but 
the bare rock ledge is still visible in the highway. 

Maple Street, formerly known as the south road 
to Warwick, turns east at this point. It was laid 
out ten rods wide in 1728, like all the other high- 
ways, but about 1797 six rods in width on the north 
side were disposed of by the town. 

The Town Hall is soon at our right, a typical 
building, which serves the town not only for town 
meetings but also for public meetings for any pur- 
pose, lectures, concerts, fairs, and what not. 

To the left is the Unitarian Church, of which a 
description will be found on page 147. 

We are now at cross-roads which mark the com- 
mercial centre of the town. Webster Block and 
Proctor Block on opposite corners furnish homes for 
the Northfield post office, telephone exchange, 
Northfield Press and several stores, while other 
stores are within a short distance in each direction. 

Parker Avenue leads west to the Northfield sta- 
tion of the Central Vermont Railroad, the centre 
cemetery and Great Meadow. The road to the 
cemetery was laid out two rods wide in 1685. 

The road that runs east is Warwick Avenue. It 
w^as laid out in 1799, wdien a cor])oration by the 
name of the Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike Corpora- 
tion was established by the legislature, consisting of 
a few citizens of each of the townships traversed, 
"for the purpose of laying out and making a turn- 
pike road from Northfield through AVarwick, 
Orange, Athol, Gerry, Templeton, Gardner, West- 
minster and Leominster ; also from Greenfield 
through Montague and up Millers River to intersect 
the aforesaid road at Athol. Said road to be four 




Dedicatory Exercises, Belcher Memorial Fountain, September 
14, 1909. Rev. Daniel M. Wilson Speaking. 




Unitarian Church, Belcher Memorial Fountain and 
Webster Block. 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 89 

rods (sixty-six feet) wide, and the traveled path to 
be eighteen feet wide ; with authority to erect five 
turnpike gates for collecting toll," one each at 
Warwick, Atliol, beyond Gardner, and at Leomin- 
ster, and one between Greenfield and Athol. Pre- 
vious to this the stage route had been from the 
schoolhouse corner at Main and School Streets 
through AA arwick. Orange, Athol, Petersham, 
Barre, Holden, AA'orcester and Shrewsbury. The 
old sign gave these distances by the old stage : 
Warwick, six miles ; AVorcester, fifty miles ; Boston, 
eighty-three miles. 

The Belcher Memorial Fountain wdiich graces the 
highway here was erected in 1909 under the bequest 
of the Misses Mary A. and Eliza Belcher. These 
ladies were the last local representatives of a family 
whose ancestor came to Northfield before 1775. 
Their public spirit and generosity were also wit- 
nessed by bequests to the Unitarian Church, the 
public and high schools, the centre cemetery, the 
Village Improvement Society, and the Franklin 
County Hospital. The fountain is over sixteen feet 
tall, and w^eighs 55,000 pounds. The chief basin is 
nine feet across, with a drinking fountain, and two 
lower receptacles for water for dogs. The entire 
structure above the foundation is of the best Ouincy 
granite. It is surmounted by a gaslight. The 
fountain was dedicated and unveiled with appro- 
priate public ceremonies on September 14, 1909. 

The Roman Catholic Church is presently passed 
on the left, and Perham's Inn on the right. 

At the next cross-roads notice the Centre School 
located in the middle of School Street (to the right), 
with Masonic Hall further east. This highway was 
originally staked out ten rods wide like the rest, 
so that there was plenty of room for the first school- 
house that w'as erected on this site in 1764, twenty- 
one by twenty feet, with seven-foot studs. That 
building stood until 1798, when a new structure was 
erected, in Avhich the Masonic Order occupied the 



Crocker Institution for Savings 

TURNERS FALLS, MASS. 

J. F. BARTLETT, President J. A. GUNN, Vice-President 

N. P. FARWELL, Treasurer 

Deposits received daily and placed on interest quarterly, the 
first of January, April, July and October. 

publishers stationers printers 



Note-paper and stationery supplies, visiting 
cards, postcards and other souvenirs, mag- 
azines and books. 

JOB PRINTING 

Society notices and individual letter heads, 
handbills and posters. Prompt and eco- 
nomical service. 

"The NORTHFIELD PRESS" 

An eight-page weekly. All the new^s of 
Northfield and vicinity. $ 1 .00 a year. 
Foreign postage 52 cents extra. 



PROCTOR BLOCK 
NORTHFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 



ALL ABOUT NORTHPIELD 91 

second floor. In 1880 enlarging needs resulted in 
this building being given over to the Masons and 
moved a little to the east, while a new schoolhouse 
was erected on the original site. The school system 
of the town is described later. 

The large building at the southwest corner, now 
a tenement, is one of the oldest houses on the street. 
School Street was formerly the north road to 
Warwick and the east. As early as 1789 a stage 
ran from Boston over this road, and in 1790 the 
route was extended north to Brattleboro, Marlboro 
and Bennington, Vermont. Captain Samuel Hunt 
kept a noted tavern here as early as 1765, which was 
continued by Captain Elisha Hunt as late as 1802, 
when the new turnpike we passed down the street 
had diverted the traffic from this road. Captain 
Hunt erected the present building about 1798, at 
first two stories, but later three, to keep even with 
Lawyer Barrett further up street. On June 11, 
1829, the "Proprietors of the Northfield Academy 
of Useful Knowledge, in the town of Northfield," 
were incorporated, including in their number Samuel 
C. Allen, William Pomeroy, Jabez Parsons, Daniel 
L. Callender, Timothy Button and Thomas L. Doak. 
The trustees purchased Hunt's Hotel, refitted it, 
added piazzas and other conveniences, and opened 
school in October of that year wnth Owen S. Keith 
as principal and Charles Osgood, assistant. It was 
held by this corporation until the franchise was sold 
to Phinehas Allen in 1835-36. Mr. Allen continued 
the school until 1843, when the premises were 
occupied as a temperance hotel for a time. Another 
select school was also conducted in this building 
later, and was attended by some of the older resi- 
dents still living. 

The road to the left is Meadow Street. It is one 
of the original highways laid out to connect Main 
Street with Great Meadow. The drive by team 
across the river can be varied by taking this road 
through the Meadow, instead of Main Street. 



92 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 




Main Street at Dickinson Memorial Library 



The brick house soon reached on the left is town 
property, having been bequeathed by Mrs. Adaline 
j\'I. Button Alexander. This lady was a life-long 
resident of Northfield, a descendant of Timothy 
Button, who came to Northfield in 1796 and whose 
name figures honorably ever since in town and 
church affairs. Her husband, Elisha Alexander, 
was also descended in a direct line from one who 
settled here in 1673. Her local pride and public 
spirit moved her in 1897 to contribute to the erec- 
tion of the memorial stones that mark the sites of 
the early settlements, forts, and certain historic 
events, under the auspices of the Village Improve- 
ment Society. On her death without heirs the town 
was further benefited by the gift of this home lot 
and money for a memorial hall. The property to the 
north was bought by the town in 1909 to serve as 
site for a combined high school and memorial hall 
and public park. Few high schools are so gener- 
ously provided for as this, with the spacious grounds 
in front and an athletic field in the rear — over eight 
acres in all. The building cost $20,000, two stories 
and basement. 

Across the street will be noted the location of 
the old Congregational Church. This handsome 



.ILL ABOUT XORTI/riLLL) 93 

and typical biiildiiii;- was erected in 1829, vacated 
in 1889 when the new and larger church was erected 
up street, sold to the Sons of Veterans in 1898, and 
burned to the ground on January 12, 1910. The 
new building contains a banquet hall on the first 
floor and a larger hall for meetings on the second 
floor. 

Dickinson Memorial Library is just beyond, on 
the right. Its story is told on a bronze memorial 
tablet within : 

"Nathaniel Dickinson built a house in 
1728 near this spot, which was soon 
changed into a fort for protection against 
the Indians. He lived here nineteen 
years, and was killed and scalped by the 
Indians April 15, 1747, aged 48. A monu- 
ment at Pochauge (Pauchaug) Hill marks 
the spot where he fell. Benoni Dickinson, 
his son, was born here, where he lived 
fifty years. He was a soldier of the 
Revolution, and died in 1839, aged 92. 
Captain Job M. Dickinson, his son, was 
born here. He was justice of the peace 
and selectman many years, and state rep- 
resentative in 1835. He died in 1870, 
aged 87. Elijah M. Dickinson, his son, 
of Fitchburg, was born in West North- 
field, August 1, 1816. He erected this 
building in memory of the above, and pre- 
sented it to the town for a public library." 

A free public library had existed in town since 
1878, succeeding a social library which was organ- 
ized by Thomas Power on February 18, 1813 ; but it 
had no home of its own until Mr. Dickinson pro- 
vided for this handsome granite edifice in 1897. The 
deed, dated April 1, 1898, conveying the land and 
building to the town, says: "It is my wdsh that said 
land and building shall be used forever for a free 
public library, reading and antiquarian rooms, and 
for educational and scientific uses, but for no other 
purpose." It is therefore more than a library and 
reading room, since its second floor contains a 
spacious hall suitable for use by literary and musical 




C. I. SCOFIELD, D.D. 

What is the Scofield Bible 
Correspondence School? 

IT IS 

1. A Correspondence School for Home Bible Study, 
bringing "A Bible Institute to your door." It is not an experi- 
ment, but has been in operation for fifteen years and has 
thousands of students in all parts of the world. Examina- 
tions are not obligatory. 

2. A Bureau of Information on any Biblical Subject. 
What do you wish to know in relation to Scripture truth? As 
a member, you have full privilege of correspondence with Dr. 
Scofield. Think what such a privilege means ! 

3. A Bible Commentary and Work of Reference of more 
value than any of the merely textual Commentaries to be had. 
Handsomely cloth-bound in three volumes, interleaved for 
notes, and an analytical Index of great value. 

Send for free Prospectus, ivhich sives particulars, and is of itself of 
sreat value to Bible Students. 

SCOFIELD BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL 

Publication Department 

150 NASSAU STREET. NEW YORK 



ALL ABOrr XORTIIPIELD 95 

societies; also smaller rooms for musenni i)urposes. 
Relics and articles of historic interest have been 
loaned by citizens and are on view here, although 
some of the most precious Northfield antiquarian 
relics were de])osited in the Memorial Hall at Deer- 
field before this library was erected. It is open on 
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, afternoon and 
evening. 

The story of "The Maples," the large three-story 
house on the left, a little north, reveals the human- 
ness of those whom time is apt to gird with a super- 
natural halo of reverence. It w^as built two stories 
high about 1795 by Lawyer John Barrett, a leading 
citizen. Shortly afterwards Captain Hunt built the 
hotel on the corner of School Street, which folks 
regarded as a better house than Barrett's. This 
touched the lawyer's pride, so he added a third 
story to his home, only to provoke his rival to add 
a third story also. 

The premises are now the property of Dr. George 
F. Pentecost, who discovered and cleaned the well 
on the north lawn, which proved to be the w^ell of 
the fort regarding wdiich the memorial boulder at 
the lot corner says : 

"On this lot a fort was built 
in 16<S6, rebuilt in 1722." 

The magnificent stone mansion set conspicuously 
upon the rise to the right, and surrounded by an 
extensive estate with artificial lakes and landscape 
gardening effects, is Birnam House, the summer 
residence of Francis R. Schell of New York, who 
came to Northfield in the nineties, and becoming 
enamored of the lovely view in all directions of hill 
and valley, forest and river, bought land and built 
this mansion. 

Mill Brook is just ahead, and we find ourselves 
once more on ground historic in its Indian and 
pioneer associations, as told at length in previous 
chapters. 




East Northfield. |- 



Scale 



i Mile. I 

1, Post Office; 2, School; 3, Revell Hall; 4, Holton Hall; 5, D. L. Moody's 
Birthplace; 6, Betsey Moodv Cottage; 7, Auditorium; 8, Weston Hall- 
9, Perry Pond; 10, Chaug Hill; 11, Bonar Hall; 12, Laundry. 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 97 

Glen Street, to the left, south of the brool<, leads 
to Reed's sawmill and Northfield Creamery. For- 
merly this connected with a roadway across the 
Connecticut, under the tracks of the railroad bridge. 
Meko Falls, on Mill Brook, are picturesque. 

Mill Street, to the left across the bridge, leads to 
the old gristmill. 

We are now in East Northfield — "New North- 
field" it might almost be called, since in this sec- 
tion we find grouped the activities started by D. L. 
Moody in 1879, which have turned wasted cow 
pastures into desirable building sites, sent real es- 
tate soaring in value, led to the erection of scores 
of private homes and school buildings, the making 
of new^ roads, and the other improvements of a 
growling community. 

The Congregational Church is in full view as we 
cross the bridge, with its Parish House on the north 
lawn (see further, page 148). Notice the square 
about 24 X 16 inches, cut in the face of Belding 
Rock, on the roadside, with this inscription: 

"Here July 23, 1748, Aaron Belding was 
killed and scalped by the Indians." 

Read of the tragedy this tells, on page 46. 

Helton Street, on the right, leads to Highland 
Avenue, which parallels Main Street north to Moody 
Street. 

Proceeding north over the rise in the road, we 
come to a couple of old and historic house^^ The 
Alexander homestead on the left, built in 1776, has 
been owned and occupied continuously by four gen- 
erations of a family which traces its descent back 
to one of the original settlers of Northfield and has 
always been prominent in local afifairs. Across the 
street, on the right, is the Colton house. Some years 
ago when this was being made over, it was dis- 
covered that the wood house was brick lined. The 
first house in this immediate vicinity was built here 





NEW BOOK. READY OCTOBER 1, 1910 

celebrating the Author's Fiftieth Anni- 
versary of entrance upon the Ministry of 
the Word of God, entitled 

"KNOWING THE 
SCRIPTURES" 

By 

Dr. ARTHUR T. PIERSON 

author of "The Bible and Spiritual Life" 

and "The Life of George Miiller," etc. a. T. Pierson, D.D. 

This book is the result of half a century of Bible Study, and 
designed to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the au- 
thor's entrance upon the Gospel Ministry (May 20, 1860). 

FIFTY RULES AND METHODS 

It presents some fifty rules and methods of such study 
which he has tried and found helpful, illustrated by sufficient 
examples to make the principles plain and obvious. The 
book will be found instructive in all three departments of 
homiletics, hermeneutics and apologetics. It begins with the 
Bible as a whole and its claims on faith and obedience ; then 
takes up the language and shows various peculiarities of 
forms of speech, words, phrases, sentences, etc. ; then passes 
to the thought and substance of the Divine Book. 

It is intended to aid in searching the Scriptures and the 
practical mastery of their contents, and emphasizes the twper- 
iniental as the highest form of knowledge. It avoids techni- 
calities and deals in plain and simple Anglo-Saxon, and ap- 
peals to the ordinary English reader as well as to the learned 
and scholarly classes. 

All Preachers, Adult Bible Class Leaders, Sunday School 
Teachers, Mission Workers, and Christians generally, 
should at once procure this volume and enjoy the mature re- 
sults of fifty years of Bible Study. It will be found a unique 
help in all departments of Christian Life and Work. 



400 pp. Cloth. Price $1.50 net. 



Send for complete Catalog of Bible Books. 



GOSPEL PUBLISHING HOUSE 

D. T. BASS, Manager 

54 WEST TWENTY-SECOND STREET - - - NEW YORK 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 



99 




Revell Hall, Main Street. 



by Deacon Ebenezer Alexander in 1733 — a period 
when a projecting upper story with port-holes was 
still necessary in such an outlying" house for pro- 
tection against Indians. In the Old French War 
the house was transformed into a fort, and a mount 
erected. The fort well is still in use in the yard on 
the south. 

Pine Street crosses Main Street just beyond. To 
the west it leads across Schell Bridge to West 
Northiield and South Vernon, so that visitors com- 
ing by rail from the south, west, and north ap- 
proach ]\Iain Street by this street. To the right it 
leads past the East Northfield graded district school, 
across Highland Avenue, and up to Camp North- 
field on the hillside. 

The brick building just north, on the left, is 
Revell Hall,' with Holton Hall to the west. These 
mark the beginning of Northfield Seminary prop- 



The Moody Bible Institute 

OF CHICAGO 

(Founded by D. L. Moody in 1886) 

Trains Christian Men and Women in the contents of the 
English Bible, Gospel music, and practical methods of Chris- 
tian work, for pastors' assistants, evangelists, missionaries, 
Bible teachers. Young Men's and Young Women's Christian 
Association secretaries, church visitors, colporteurs, choristers 
and other forms of Christian service. 

Its training is Evangelical and Undenominational. Its 
students receive their Tuition Free. Its Broader Work in- 
cludes (a) a Correspondence Course; (b) an Extension De- 
partment for the conduct of Bible conferences and evangelis- 
tic meetings ; (c) a Colportage Association for the publication 
and distribution of religious books and tracts in various lan- 
guages. 

Its official organ is The Institute Tie, the Magazine for 
Christian Workers, published monthly at one dollar a year, 
and devoted to Bible study, the quickening of the devotional 
life, the defense of the Gospel, evangelism, missions, and the 
news and work of the Institute. Sample copies are sent free 
upon request. 

The work is supported by the Free Will Offerings of 
Christians of all denominations and from all parts of the 
world. Its larger and permanent needs are New Buildings 
for dormitory and classroom purposes, business offices, music 
studios, library, etc., for which gifts are earnestly solicited. 



Henry P. Crowell, President James M. Gray, Dean 

A. P. FiTT, Secretary 

Howard W. Pope, Supt. Men Charlotte A. Gary, Supt. Women 
William Evans, Director Bible Gourse 
D. B. Towner, Director Music Gourse 

John H. Hunter, Director Evening Dept. 
A. F. Gaylord, Business Manager 



For Catalogue and Further Information address 

THE MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE 

153-163 INSTITUTE PLACE : : : : CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 



Aij. .inoi'T xoRTj/rnuj) loi 

erty. A description of the Seminary l)niklings oc- 
curs in another chapter, l)ut here we note that this 
locaHty has a history. Rev. Benjamin Doolittle was 
given ten acres of pasture land here as a town grant 
in 1718 on his settlement as local minister, to which 
he added six and a half acres !)}• purchase in 1726. 
His son Lucius kept a noted stage tavern here for 
many years, until the opening of the turnpike (now 
Warwick Avenue) down street, with its toll gates, 
led travel from Southern Vermont to Boston to use 
a more northerly route. The swinging tavern sign 
is still preserved in Deerfield museum. It is painted 
and inscribed on both sides alike : a rabbit, w^ith a 
tall elm on either side of it, the words "Doolittle's 
Tavern" clearly cut below, and the date "1784" at 
the top. 

The river view opens on our vision at this point — 
a vicAv of surpassing, quiet beauty. Standing by 
Sentinel Tree one can drink in a scene that combines 
woods and water, hills and valley in a harmonious 
whole that is almost unequaled anywhere else — a 
rare New England landscape. The smoke of trains 
rising above the trees across the Connecticut to the 
northwest locates the West Northfield junction of 
the Boston & Maine and Central Vermont rail- 
roads. The state line runs east and west through 
the station yard, with Vernon township to the 
north on the Vermont side, and Hinsdale on the 
New Hampshire side. The foreground of the pic- 
ture is Seminary property, with the laundry among 
the trees, and Pauchaug Meadow beyond. The 
railroad bridge adds a not unpleasing touch to the 
scene, and reminds of man's triumphs over natural 
difficulties in the new civilization that has posses- 
sion of these fertile acres, once held by the Indians. 
The bridge is used by the Ashuelot branch of the 
Boston & Maine Railroad between West Northfield 
and Keene, N. H. Beyond, on the valley's horizon, 
Mount Wantastiquet rises to a height of 1364 feet, 
with Brattleboro at its western base. 




Home of D. L. Moody, Main Street. 



0\0mi 




Left row, beginning at top: Stone Hall, Holton Hall, Betsey 
Moody Cottage, Revell Hall. Centre row: Moore Hall, Mar- 
quand Hall, East Hall. Right row: Talcott Library, Skinner 
Gymnasium, Weston Hall, Hillside Cottage. 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 103 

The road that runs east is the highway to Win- 
chester, N. H. We will return to this presently. 

The second house beyond, on the right, fronted 
by a spacious lawn and shaded by maples, was 
D. L. Moody's home from 1875 until his death here 
on December 22, 1899. On the death of Mrs. Moody 
(October 10, 1903), also in this house, the premises 
passed to their younger son, Paul Dwight, the 
present owner. Round Top, the well-known knoll 
where Mr. and Mrs. Moody were interred, is in this 
property, directly east of the house — approached 
better from Winchester Road. 

The Seminary buildings and campus come into 
full view beyond Mr. Moody's. The grounds are 
open to the public, wdio are also welcome to inspect 
the buildings at any season of the year. 

Main Street continues on past Bonar Cottage (on 
the left) to Pauchaug Hill, where the granite shaft 
on the right, commonly called the Dickinson monu- 
ment, commemorates the tragedy told on page 46. 
On one face we read : 

"Nathaniel Dickinson was killed and 
scalped by the Indians at this place 
April 15, 1747, aged 48.'" 

On the other : 

"Asahel, son of Joseph Burt, com- 
panion of Dickinson and sharer of 
his fate, aged about 40." 

At the foot of "Chaug Hill," as it is often called 
for short, we pass the entrance to Bonar Glen, a 
shady ravine named in honor of Rev. Andrew Bonar, 
D. D., of Scotland, who took a leading part in the 
convention of 1881. The Seminary formerly derived 
its water supply from the brook in this glen, but it 
is now used only as a reserve supply when needed. 

A stone's throw further Wanamaker Lake nestles 
under high bluft's, w^ith Minnehaha Falls setting off 
the picture at the eastern end. This is Pauchaug 
Brook. 



THE BOOKSTORE 

EAST NORTHFIELD 
MASSACHUSETTS 



Headquarters for all the Nonhfield pub- 
lications, agents for the printed public 
platform addresses of the Northfield Con- 
ferences, and dealers in all religious 
literature. 



BIBLES AND HYMN BOOKS 



Makers of Northfield souvenirs, post- 
cards, photographs, and pillows, pins, 
pennants and emblems of the Northfield 
Schools. 



Mail Orders receive prompt attention 
without cost of post. 



THE BOOKSTORE 

EAST NORTHFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 



ALL ABOVT XORTHPIRLD 105 

The road to the rioht leads around "the Long 
Square" (so called), passing the summer residences 
of Dr. D. J. Fuller, Rev. A. T. Pierson, D. L. 
Pierson, Dr. Clyde E. Barton and others, as well as 
several fine farms, until it joins Winchester Road 
a short distance south of Lovers' Retreat. A new 
road wdiich cuts east at Dr. Pierson's makes a 
shorter "Square." 

The main highway divides at the top of the rise 
beyond Wanamaker Lake. The right fork crosses 
Pauchaug Plain, with its comfortable homesteads, 
and leads straight up the mountain and over to 
Ashuelot, N. H. The left fork is the main road for 
automobiling and driving to Hinsdale (seven miles) 
and Brattleboro (thirteen miles). It keeps along by 
the river, passing Pauchaug Meadow on the left, 
over the state line, where it is soon to be improved 
by the state of New Hampshire as the easterly state 
trunk road to the White Mountains. It crosses the 
Ashuelot branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad 
at Doolittle's Crossing. 

Retracing our steps to Revell Hall corner, we 
turn up Moody Street. This leads to the Bookstore 
Building (property of the Mount Hermon School), 
in which are located the East Northfield post-office. 
Western Union telegraph office, the Record of Chris- 
tian Work office, as also the Seminary bookstore and 
the offices of W. R. Moody, A. G. Moody, and other 
school officials. 

On the north side of the street is D. L. Moody's 
Birthplace. Here, in humble circumstances, Dwight 
Lyman Ryther Moody was born on Eebruary 5. 
1837, the sixth child of Edwin and Betsey Holton 
Moody. Here he lived until he struck out in the 
w^orld in 1854. Hither he returned from time to 
time to visit his mother, and in 1875 bought the 
adjacent homestead in order to be near her. Here 
he built the sun parlor on the west side for her com- 
fort, with its commanding view of the river and the 
western hills. Here "Grandma Moodv," as she was 



ROSCOE H. PHILBRICK, M. D. 

main street 
East Northfield, Massachusetts 



Office Hours : 
8 to 8.30 a.m., 1 .30 to 2.30 and 7 to 8 p.m. Telephone 34-2 



GEORGE T. THOMPSON, D. D. S. 

190 Main Street 

East Northfield, Mass. 

OFFICE HOURS: 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. 
Saturday afternoons reserved 

CRANE COTTAGE 

ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE AUDITORIUM 

SEASON, JUNE TO SEPTEMBER 

Accommodations for 50 persons, rooms and board. Moderate 

rates. For further information write to 

MRS. C. W. STEBBINS 

Manager Crane Cottage 

EAST NORTHFIELD - - - MASSACHUSETTS 



THE LEVERING STUDIO 

NEAR THE AUDITORIUM 

Kodaks, Cameras and Supplies 
Portraits, Groups, Views 

PRINTING FOR AMATEURS A SPECIALTY 



ALL ABOUT XORTIIPJni.n 



107 




Birthplace of D. L. Moody, Moody Street. 

known in her later years, died on January 26, 1896, 
within ten days of her ninety-second birthday anni- 
versary, loved and honored for her own character 
and worth, and not alone as mother of her illus- 
trious son. The homestead is still in the family. 




Graves of Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Moody on Round Top. 



VEGETABLES and FRUITS 

All kinds in season. Prices moderate. Delivery 
on Wednesdays and Saturdays 

CANNED BERRIES AND JAMS 

Orders taken, to be delivered in the Fall 



TELEPHONE 

CONNECTION 



L. O. CLAPP 



QUINNEH TUK CAMP FOR BOYS 



NINTH SEASON 



JUNE TO OCTOBER 



Athletics and Swimming carefully supervised 
A wholesome out-of-doors life 
Sanitary tents. Lodge adjoining camp 
Rates: Five to Eight Dollars a Week 

Address HOWARD BRIGGS, East Northfield, Mass. 





" /4^ 4=^^ .Xa^ \ 


^t 




3 



THE NORTHFIELD 



EAST NORTHFIELD 
MASSACHUSETTS 



,/^PEN all the year. Excellent Table. Comfortable rooms, 

^^ with or without private bath. Steam Heat. Electric 
Lights. Moderate Rates. Livery and Garage. Packard 
Touring Car for rent. 

Illiistiated booklet free. 

Ambert G. Moody, Manager. H. S. Stone, Asst. Manager. 



ALL ABOUT NORTI 1 1- 1 ULD 109 

The road that leads north at this corner, called 
Winchester Road, continues past the Seminary 
campus and farm building-s. The graves of Mr. and 
Mrs. D. L. Moody on Round Top can be seen at the 
left. The hillsides at the right have been divided 
into lots of recent years, and are now dotted with 
upwards of a hundred rustic summer cottages, the 
tracts being called Rustic Ridge (controlled by the 
Seminary) and Mountain Park. Further on, as the 
highway skirts the base of Notch jMountain, are the 
summer residences of Col. J. J. Taneway of New 
Brunswick, N. J. ; Rev. H. W. Mabie, D. D., of Bos- 
ton ; Rev. James A. O'Connor of New York, and 
Ouinneh Tuk Camp and others. The East Northficld 
AVater Company's reservoir is on the hill behind 
Dr. Mabie's. A new road from the left gives a 
short-cut to Dr. A. T. Pierson's, and a quarter mile 
beyond the shaft that marks the state line the 
Winchester Road is joined by the old cross-road 
from Wanamaker Lake; and just beyond is the en- 
trance to Lovers' Retreat and Pauchaug Brook. 
Turn up Lovers' Retreat to get to Winchester, 
N. H. — a hilly but picturesque road. 

Coming back again to D. L. Moody's birthplace^ 
Moodv Street continues east to Rustic Ridp'e and 
Strowbridge Hill. 

The road south from the same corner is Highland 
Avenue. It was laid out in 1889, after the hotel 
was built, so that the trees and houses in this sec- 
tion are of recent date. It is crossed or joined suc- 
cessively by Pine Street, Aldrich Street and Glen- 
wood Avenue before we reach The Northfield hotel 
and Francis R. Schell's estate. Holton Street runs 
w^est to connect with Main Street. 

Birnam Road runs parallel to Highland Avenue^ 
a short way up the hillside. Its northern termi- 
nus is at the Seminary barn, where it joins Win- 
chester Road ; its south end is at W^arwick Avenue. 



MISS MINNIE WARDEN 

begs to inform her patrons that 
she is ready as heretofore to 
DRIVE PLEASURE PARTIES 
about Beautiful Northfield 
and vicinity. Single or two-horse 
vehicles. ::::::::: 

APPOINTMENTS BY LETTER OR TELEPHONE (2 ring 3) 



QUINNEH TUK COTTAGES 

WINCHESTER ROAD 

Comfortable Rooms or Tents 
Short Walk to Auditorium 
Carriages for the Conferences 
Rates: Seven to Ten Dollars a Week 

JUNE TO NOVEMBER 

Address HOWARD BRIGGS, East Northfield, Mass. 



Proctor's Livery Stable 



FIRST-CLASS TEAMS 

OF ALL KINDS TO LET 



TEAMS MEET ALL TRAINS 



PROMPT SERVICE AND A SQUARE DEAL GUARANTEED 

PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL 
TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS 



FRED L. PROCTOR, Prop. 

Main Street, Northfield, and Moody Street, East Northfield 



WALKS AND DRIVES ABOUT 
NORTHFIELD 




At Bear's Den. 



TH E vicinity 
of North- 
field is un- 
usually rich in 
picturesque scen- 
ery, historic asso- 
ciation, bird life 
and flora. Any 
of the pathways 
among- the woods 
and hills will re- 
pay a ramble. Any 
of the mountain 
roads, with their 
grateful shade and 
ever-changing out- 
look, is a delight. 
A r m e d with a 
camera, one will 
find tempting 
and leafy 
at every 



brooks 
nooks 
turn, 
summer 



If Northfield is beautiful in summer it is not 
less, though differently, beautiful at other seasons. 
In the spring the orchards are fragrant with blos- 
soms, the foliage and verdure are new, and the 
brooks are full of water. There are a score of bab- 
bling brooks on the hillsides every spring, when 
the snows have melted, where summer visitors see 
only their dry beds. Autumn sets the woods on fire. 
When frost cuts oft" the leaves the view^ is more ex- 
tensive. The aspect of the trees when the limbs 
and twies are covered with a feathery mantle of 



112 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 




Sleighing and Skiing in the Woods. 



snow is exquisitely beautiful. Nothing could exceed 
the exhilaration of crisp winter days when skating 
and sleighing are good. 

Meko Falls on Mill Brook, a stone's throw west 
of Main Street. In spite of the dams there is a 
lovely bit of waterway here, where the stream tum- 
bles down the rocky gorge to the river level. 

Bonar Glen, just north of Marquand Hall. 

Wanamaker Lake and Minnehaha Falls on the 
road to Hinsdale, where it is crossed by Pauchaug 
Brook. Follow the brook upstream for a pleasant 
walk. 

Strowbridge Hill, up Moody Street, past Rustic 
Ridge. A charming woodland road leaves Birnam 
Road directly east of the "The Northfield" and 
leads to the summit of Strowbridge. The gaping 
cellars of houses and the neglected apple trees re- 



ALL ABOUT NORTHIUBLD 



113 



call the time when this deserted hilltop was occu- 
pied by several well-to-do farms and orchards. 

Stone Chair, on Strov\l)ridge Hill. 

Cathedral Pines, just 
east of Camp Xorthlield, 
up Pine Street. 

Burnt Patch, on the 
hilltop beyond Cathedral 
Pines. A splendid view 
of the valley north and 
south is obtained from 
this open spot. The rock 
at the summit is full of 
garnets. 

King Philip's Hill, on 
the west bank of the Con- 
necticut, just across Ben- 
nett's Txleadow Bridge 
(one and a half miles)."' 
To get from Main Street, 
take Aleadow Street, or 
Parker Avenue (past the 
Northfield depot of the 

Central Vermont Railroad, and the centre ceme- 
tery with many quaint old inscriptions), or River 
Street, across Great Meadow. A deep trench can 
still be traced on the top of the bluff at its southerly 
angle beyond the bridge, which is thought to have 
been dug as an intrenchment when King Philip 
camped here in February-April, 1676. The decayed 
stump of a large tree, once used by the Indians as 
a look-out and partially destroyed in 1869, is also 
to be seen here. 

Directly to the north of the bridge (west side) 
the bluff* affords a lovely view of the river bend, 
with Northfield Street behind Great Meadow. The 




Cathedral Pines. 



*The Distances are given from Belcher Fountain, on Main Street, 
which is at the heart of the township. From East Northfield add or 
subtract (as the case may be) 1% miles as the distance between Belcher 
Fountain and East Northfield post-office. 




Mount Hermon School Ground Plan. 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 



115 



ravine to- the west of this bluff is aflame with swamp 
pinks in season. 

To Mount Hermon School via Bennett's Meadow 
Bridge. Leave Main Street by River Street, where 
the school buildings are clearly visible two miles 
away to the southwest across the valley. River 
Street passes down grade under the Central Ver- 
mont tracks, across Great Meadow and Bennett's 
Meadow Ijridge (one 



and 

skir' 
Kin? 



skirting 



half miles), 
the base of 
g. Philip's Hill, 
with Bennett's Mead- 
ow to the left, over 
Bennett's Brook and 
up the rise of Ben- 
nett's Hill (two 
miles). Keeping to 
the left, the road 
forks. The right fork 
swings around past 
the Hoi ton home- 
stead, the birthplace 
of Betsey Holton, 
mother of D. L. 
Moody. This farm 
has been held by suc- 
cessive generations 
under grant from 
King George H. This 
road leads to Mount 
Hermon depot, but 
the first turn to the 
left is school property 
(two and a half 
miles), leading 
through a fine belt of 

pines, past St. Patrick's Pond, to the rear of the 
campus. The left fork at the top of Bennett's Hill 
traverses the location of the Indian village 




Mount Hermon Pines. 



of 



116 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

Natanis, past Mount Hermon Cemetery. School 
property begins on the left at J. P. Holton's home- 
stead (two and a half miles). This is the river road 
to Gill and Greenfield. The school is described 
elsewhere, but in addition to what is there noted 
visitors will be repaid by an inspection of the live- 
stock and farm, which are maintained at a high 
standard under the direction of the agricultural de- 
partment of the school. 

To Mount Hermon School via Schell Bridge. A 

little longer and less frequented route (the difference 
is slight from East Northfield). 

Leave Main Street by Pine Street, winding down 
grade to the river. After crossing Schell Bridge 
(one and three quarter miles) and reaching the end 
of the road, keep square to the left down the river. 
The road runs under the Central Vermont tracks at 
the railroad bridge, later under the Boston & Maine 
tracks. At Nelson's sawmill (three miles) and 
Pickett's Pond, a picturesque little lake that yields 
w^ater lilies, the road crosses Bennett's Brook. (The 
road to the right here leads to another lily pond, 
and to Hell's Back Kitchen.) The right fork, just 
beyond Pickett's Pond, leads past Mount Hermon 
station on the Boston & Maine Railroad, and the 
first turn to the left, then to the right, leads into 
school property (four and a half miles) through the 
pines. The left fork at Pickett's Pond joins the 
highway across Bennett's Meadow Bridge at the 
top of Bennett's Hill (three and three quarters miles 
— see above). 

To Mount Hermon via Munn's Ferry. This 
route is about three miles longer than the direct 
route, but it gives a full view of the school build- 
ings and campus, while an old-fashioned wire ferry 
is something of a curiosity. 

Keep south on Main Street, over Aliller's Brook, 
crossing and recrossing the Central Vermont tracks, 
over Beers' Plain. The first turn to the right (three 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 



117 



and one quarter miles) leads to Munn's Ferry, 
whose sign is usually hung at the corner if the 
ferry is running. West of the river the first turn 
to the right (four and a half miles) leads into 
Mount Hermon grounds (five and a half miles). To 
the left this highway leads to Gill (six miles) and to 
Greenfield (thirteen miles). 

An alternate road leads past Beers' Memorial 
(see below), and joins the main highway running 
south before the ferry road is reached. 

The return drive by Bennett's Meadow Bridge 
makes a round trip of about eight miles. 

Beers' Massacre 
Memorial. A gran- 
ite shaft with this in- 
scription : 

"On this plain Cap- 
tain Richard Beers 
and his men were 
surprised by Indians 
September 4, 1675." 

will be found (one 
and a half miles) by 
taking Maple 
Street, then the first 
turn to the right. 
The full story of the 
massacre is told in 
an earlier chapter. 
This plain is full of 
arrow heads and 
other Indian re- 
mains, the wilder- 
ness having formerly been a fertile tract occupied by 
the aborigines. ' 

River Drive and French King. Follow "To 
Mount Hermon via Munn's Ferry" as directed above 
(either road), past the turn to the ferry (three and 




Beers' Massacre Memorial, 
Beers' Plain. 



118 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

one quarter miles) to Northfield Farms depot (five 
and a half miles), where our road keeps to the Con- 
necticut. French King is the stretch of river that 
now comes into view (six and a half to seven 
miles), the narrowing of the channel forming 
dangerous rapids ; or perhaps it is the name of the 
large rock in the middle of the river at the top of 
the rapids — no one seems to know definitely the 
origin or meaning of the name. The rock prac- 
tically marks the junction of the townships of 
Northfield, Erving (to the south) and Gill (to the 
west). 

From here dowm to the junction of Miller's River 
with the Connecticut at seven and a half miles the 
race of water through the gorge makes a very pretty 
river view, with the roadway at the water's edge. 
Further on still the river forms the ''Horse Race" 
and "Narrows" before reaching still water at Tur- 
ners Falls dam. 

The Indian name of Miller's River was Pequoiag. 

To Millers Falls. Take the "River Drive" (see 
above) to Northfield Farms depot (five and one half 
miles), but there take the left fork, straight into 
Millers Falls (eight and one half miles). This town 
is the junction point of the Central Vermont Rail- 
road and the Pltchburg division of the Boston & 
Maine Railroad. In the old days of stage coaches 
it was called Grout's Corner, the hotel kept by 
Martin Grout being a stopping place on the route 
from Boston to Albany. The erection of a shop in 
1869 by what is now the Millers Falls Company 
promoted its recent development. The manufacture 
of mechanical tools and implements, and household 
hardware, is one of the leading industries in the 
county. Millers Falls is in Montague township. 

Autoists will find this the more level route to 
Boston and eastern cities. 

To Hermit Rock and Erving. Take the route "To 
Millers Falls" (eight and one half miles) and turn to 



ALL ABOUT NORTH PI ELD 119 

the left before crossing Miller's River. The road 
skirts along this rocky stream, with the Boston 
& Maine tracks on the south side and forest-clad 
hills rising abruptly on either hand. 

Farley is passed at eleven miles. This village 
grew up around the plant which was started here 
in 1883 by J. B. and D. E. Farley, and which now 
includes a paper and pulp mill and knitting works. 

Hermit Rock is three fourths of a mile further 
east, so called because a hermit had a cottage on 
the mountain side here. The granite rock forma- 
tion in this vicinity makes a rugged landscape. 

Erving is at fourteen miles. The original name 
was Erving's Grant, after John Erving, a Boston 
merchant wdio purchased several parcels of land 
in the vicinity of the present town in 1750-54. The 
shorter name was adopted when the town was 
incorporated in 1838. Several factories are located 
here. 

The return to Northfield can be made by an 
almost straight road among the hills, rising in 
places to an altitude of 1200 feet, past Crag and 
Brush Mountains — eight miles to Belcher Fountain. 
Round trip, twenty-one to twenty-two miles. 

To Greenfield, Mass., via Bennett's Meadow 
Bridge. See above, "To Mormt Hermon via Ben- 
nett's Meadow Bridge." The right fork (two miles) 
at the top of Bennett's Hill leads, beyond the turn 
into Mount Hermon grounds, to a square turn to 
the left at the end of the road. Follow the main 
highway into Bernardston (six miles). 

Bernardston was originally called Falls' Town, 
and owes its settlement to the grant in 1734 of six 
square miles to the participants (or their descend- 
ants) in the fight between colonists and Indians 
at falls on the Connecticut River at Turners Falls 
in 1676. The name was changed in honor of Gover- 
nor Bernard when the town was incorporated in 
1762. 



(KEENE) 



Pi 

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122 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 




MuNN's Ferry. 



Turn square left at the hotel in Bernardston. 
This gives a trifle longer route to Greenfield (thir- 
teen miles), but a more level and a better road. 

The left fork at Bennett's Hill gives a front view 
of Mount Hermon campus and buildings. At four 
miles a road runs directly east to Munn's Ferry. 
Gill Centre is reached at five and one half miles, 
named for Moses Gill, who was lieutenant governor 
when the township was set off from Greenfield and 
incorporated in 1793. 

Factory Hollow and Falls River are at eight and 
one half miles, beyond which a road from Bernard- 
ston joins the highway on the right (nine miles). 
The road on the left leads to Turners Falls. So by 
state road into Greenfield (twelve miles). 

Greenfield dates back to 1686, when the first set- 
tlers in that part of Deerfield township, which after- 
ward developed into Greenfield, were given grants 
of twenty acres each along Green River. The town 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD . 123 

was incorporated in 1753. It is now the county 
seat of Franklin County, an important junction on 
the Fitchburg and Connecticut & Passumpsic 
divisions of the Boston & Maine Railroad, the 
seat of several factories, etc. The Indian name of 
Green River was Picomegan=the boring river. 

Greenfield can also be reached via Schell Bridge 
and Bernardston or Gill, or via Munn's Ferry and 
Gill, by following the directions for reaching Mount 
Flermon by these routes, then taking the routes 
indicated above. 

Stoughton's Bird Track Quarry is east from Fac- 
tory Hollow (eight and one half miles — see above). 
The impressions of prehistoric bird tracks in the 
rocks are pointed out. 

Poet's Seat is two miles from Greenfield, and 
might be visited on the return drive. A little off the 
direct road, but the extensive view in all directions 
will repay the detour. ''A steep ridge of forest- 
crowned rock which overlooks all the valley region 
round about. Swing around by Cheapside over the 
little hills there, following down to the Connecticut, 
then turning again up the long hillside road, along 
the mountain side. Here are beautiful views 
across pastures and fields, with a shining ribbon 
of water in the middle of the landscape, and beyond 
more trees and dim blue hills. 

''After a brisk trot through the woods on the 
upland you come out in an open space where a 
sheer precipice of rock breaks away to the westerly 
valley, and a most charming sweep of country 
spreads itself before the eyes. Leagues on leagues 
of rolling hill and valley, now open fields, now 
groves or stretches of woodland, spread away to 
the big hills along the west. In the midst lies 
Greenfield. On the rock here is a stout Avatch- 
tower from whose top a wider view is possible." 

Turners Falls can be reached by turning to the 
left at Factory Hollow (see above), past Riverside 



124 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

on the Gill side. The unrivaled water power due 
to the building of a dam at this point in 1886-87 has 
led to the erection of several paper, lumber, cotton 
and cutlery mills. The dam is about 1000 feet in 
length, with an extreme fall of 41 feet, an*^ de- 
velopment of 30,000 horse power. 

The town is named after Captain Turner, who, on 
May 18, 1676, surprised and slew a large band of 
Indians who had gathered at the falls (flooded since 
the dam was built) for shad and salmon fishing. It 
is in Montague township. 

Deerfield, whose pioneer and colonial history is 
interwoven with Northfield's, is about three miles 
south of Greenfield. It is the oldest of the twenty- 
six towns in the county, dating from 1663, and is the 
historical centre. Its Indian name was Pocumtuck. 
In 1870 the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Associa- 
tion, of which the venerable George M. Sheldon is 
president, was chartered for historical research and 
the preservation of relics. Memorial Hall was dedi- 
cated in 1880, and contains memorial tablets in ad- 
dition to a large and valuable collection of docu- 
ments, records, relics and other articles. The- old 
Jurying ground. Bloody Brook and other scenes 
nearby recall the days of murder and massacre by 
Indians and French. 

A party that drives to Greenfield can leave horses 
there and go to Deerfield by trolley. Deerfield 
street is second only to Northfield for its beautiful 
trees. 

Huckle Hill and Vernon. The usual route is by 
Bennett's Aleadow Bridge, past Mount Hermon 
School grounds, toward Bernardston. The road 
turns north from the main highway before reaching 
Bernardston village, skirts along Huckle Hill and 
Pond Mountain, with views of westerly valleys and 
hills not seen from Northfield valley. As the road 
descends into Vernon township a panoramic view is 
obtained of Vernon dam and the broad Connecticut 



ALL ABOi'T XORTIIFIELD 



125 



behind it. Home through South X'ernon and West 
Northfield via Schell Bridge. Round tri]), eighteen 
miles. 

Bear's Den and Wild Cat Mountain. Take the 
road into Bernardston village, where there is a 
square turn to the north at the hotel. A very pic- 
turesque drive through a narrow, rugged ravine. 
Round trip, twenty miles. 

Hell's Back Kitchen. The road turns west at 
Pickett's Pond on the way to Mount Hermon via 
Schell Bridge (see above), then north, and back 
through South Vernon. Round trip, twelve miles. 

The origin of the name is uncertain, although the 
high level traversed by the upper road from South 
Vernon village to Pickett's Pond has gone by the 
name "Satan's Kino-dom." 

Louisiana Mountain. 
Turn up the woodland 
road south of the en- 
trance to Chalet Roe- 
burn, Dr. Mabie's resi- 
dence, and ascend the 
hill past the East North- 
field Water Company's 
reservoir (three miles). 
Hog Back (four miles) 
is an open, rocky knoll 
near the summit, from 
which an expansive view 
to the east and north is 
obtained, bounded by 
Mount Grace, Mount 
Monadnock and A\ in- 
chester Mountain. An- 
other nearby object of 
interest is Pivot Rock, a 
boulder eight feet high 

and larger in diameter, which is so balanced natur- 
ally that it can be moved a little without overmuch 
effort, as if on a pivot. 




Pauchaug Fall. 



126 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 



Hog Back is just 
over the line in War- 
wick township. The 
state line runs east 
and west over the 
summit of Louisiana. 
A dark, rough ham- 
mered stone monu- 
ment about 300 feet 
down its easterly 
slope marks the cor- 
ner of the townships 
of Northfield, War- 
•wick (to the east) and 
Winchester, N. H. 
(to the north). 

Louisiana is called 
Pine Mountain in 
some maps. It is 
1100 feet high. Notch 
Mountain to the south 
is 1300 feet high. 

Lovers' Retreat, 

formerly called the 
Hollow Road to Win- 
chester, is the most 
picturesque bit of 
roadway near North- 
field. A quarter mile 
north of the state line 
the highway to Win- 
chester turns to the 
right and runs for a 
mile alongside Pau- 

chaug Brook, where it courses down the wooded 

ravine between Louisiana and Winchester mountains. 

From the Auditorium to the entrance of Lovers' 

Retreat is one and a half miles. 

Pulpit Rock is an immense boulder, as high as a 
two-story house almost, in 




Pauchaug Brook. 



the bed of Pauchaug 



ALL ABOUT XORTLIFILLD 127 

Brook upstream beyond Lovers' Retreat. It can be 
reached by walking- over the brow of Louisiana 
Mountain (see above) and down into the ravine be- 
low; or up Winchester Road, through Lovers' Re- 
treat (see above), up the rise beyond, until a log- 
ging road is reached which leads through the pas- 
ture at the right down to Pauchaug Brook. A fur- 
ther tramp upstream leads to the remarkable rocky 
formation under quest, apparently dating from the 
glacial period. Pauchaug Fall is adjacent. 

To Winchester, N. H. Follow Winchester Road 
through Lovers' Retreat (see above) and up the 
rise beyond. The right fork at the top is a little 
longer than the left fork, but an easier grade and 
better view. The road swings ofif north along the 
side of Winchester Mountain, with a grand view of 
Sunny Valley and the hills to the east. On the ap- 
proach to W^inchester the road runs alongside Ash- 
uelot River, with a number of hoary pines on 
its banks. Distance to the centre of the town, seven 
and a half miles. 

Forest Lake. A pretty lake just to the right of 
the highway from AA'inchester to West Swanzey 
and Keene, N. H., two miles north of Winchester 
(see above). A favorite resort for summer cottages 
and picnics. 

Hinsdale, N. H. Follow Main Street north, past 
Wanamaker Lake, always keeping to the left at 
forks, past Pauchaug Meadow, crossing the Boston 
& Maine tracks at Doolittle's Crossing (three and a 
half miles). Distance to Ashuelot River Bridge in 
Hinsdale, seven miles. The east end of Vernon dam 
is in this town. 

Ashuelot River Drive via Hinsdale and Winches- 
ter, N. H. Take the road to Hinsdale, N. H. (see 
above), and turn square to the right after crossing 
the bridge over the Ashuelot River (seven miles). 
The route passes up the main street of Hinsdale, and 



128 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 




AsHUELOT River. 



eastward along the river side. Ashuelot village is 
reached at ten miles, with iron bridge and railroad 
depot at eleven miles. For these four miles the road 
is level and very picturesque. Winchester is 
reached at thirteen miles. 

The return to Northfield is by the road "To Win- 
chester, N. H." (see above). Round trip, twenty 
miles. 

Ashuelot River and Davis Mountain Drive. Fol- 
low the "Ashuelot River Drive via Hinsdale" to 
Ashuelot depot (see above — eleven miles). Instead 
of continuing to Winchester, cross the bridge. The 
road now climbs over Gun Mountain, usually called 
Davis Mountain because of the Davis farm on its 
south slope, visible from Northfield Street. As you 
descend, the view of Northfield and the Connecticut 
valley for miles to the south is grand. Round trip, 
seventeen miles. 



/ILL ABOUT NORTJU'ILLI) 129 

Chesterfield and Spofford Lake, N. H. Take the 
road '"To Hinsdale, N. H." (see above — seven miles). 
The Chesterfield road runs north from the centre of 
Alain Street, and aft'ords another picturesque moun- 
tain drive. Chesterfield is at fourteen and a half miles, 
and Lake Spofford at sixteen miles. This is the 
largest lake in this section, six to seven miles in cir- 
cumference, elevation 724 feet. A highway skirts 
the water's edge most of the way. There are about 
seventy-five summer residences, two or three hotels, 
several boys' camps, and a yacht club that holds 
regattas bi-weekly, golf links, bathing beaches, a 
public steam launch, and other boating facilities 
in season. Lake SpofTord is without an inlet, be- 
ing fed entirely by internal springs. It is of great 
depth, with a rocky and sandy bottom. 

Spofford village is a mile further along the south 
shore (seventeen miles). 

Keene, N. H., is ten miles east from Spoft'ord, by 
a winding road with easy grades of descent, and 
Brattleboro, Vt., is about the same distance west, 
by a winding road through the woods, down grade 
to the Connecticut River suspension bridge, then 
south down the river. The return trip by either of 
these routes lengthens the distance but affords a 
pleasing drive through the pine belt of Southern 
New Hampshire. 

Pisgah Primeval Forest. Comparatively few peo- 
])le in the surrounding neighborhood know about 
the existence of an immense tract of timberland, 
much of it primeval forest, in the town of Winches- 
ter, N. H., and extending into Hinsdale, Chesterfield, 
and perhaps Swanzey. Here is to be found the finest 
and largest growth of pines in the east, and the for- 
est is fairly accessible. A competent guide, how- 
ever, is a necessity. 

The forest is approached from Hinsdale by the 
Chesterfield road (see above), where the team wdll 
be left about two and a half miles north of the town, 
and the tramp through the thicket begun. A de- 



130 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

scription culled from the Vermont Phcenix tells what 
every visitor will want to know : 

''vSome of the big trees are found within less than 
two miles of Kilburn Pond, but the finest tract, 
where all the trees are large and trim, veritable for- 
est giants, cannot be reached without a Avalk of 
several miles through the woods. In addition to 
the pines there are many gigantic spruces, some of 
the handsomest chestnuts that ever grew in a for- 
est, and occasional maples, beeches, birches and oaks 
are found; but the grandeur of the forest is in the 
pines. In passing from one section of virgin forest 
to another it is necessary to tramp at times through 
second growth timber, and on the way two or three 
abandoned lumber camps which were used twenty 
years ago and upwards are found. 

"Our visitors measured many trees which showed 
at the butts a circumference of twelve feet and up- 
wards, and one leviathan of the forest had a waist 
measure lacking but a single inch of fifteen feet. 
These trees are to a large extent straight, sound and 
clean. They rise majestically in the air upwards of 
100 feet and are bare of limbs to a height of fifty to 
sixty feet, 

"The great age of the maple trees is shown by the 
fact that the bark is old and worn, resembling the 
exterior of the shag-bark walnut, while the surface 
of the birches is divided by vertical seams, making 
the trunks look like the ordinary hemlocks. Two 
clusters of Norway pines are pointed out by the 
guide. How old are the ancient trees of the virgin 
forest? Foresters are of the opinion that the big 
coniferous trees — pines and spruces — are over 300 
years old, and some of them were probably growing 
when the white man first landed on our shores. 
Some of the small trees which appear to be but 
little more than underbrush are estimated to be 
seventy-five years old. Growing in the shade be- 
neath the big trees the little fellows have been 
stunted and have had no chance to become lustv. 



ALL ABOVr XORTIIFILLD 



131 



Cutting- down one of the small trees and examining 
its rings they will he found so fine that a microscope 
is needed to count them accurately. 

*'In the forest seven ponds are found, connected 
by a small stream. These ponds abound in pickerel 
and hornpout. It was a surprise to find the shores 
of these ponds solid granite formations. In the fall 




In Pisgah Primeval Forest in Winter. 



the ponds are low and the granite rocks on all sides 
of the water tower into the air impressively. This 
stone evidently contains a much larger percentage 
of mineral matter than the granite usually found on 
the Vermont side of the river. In the spring and 
early summer, when the water is high, a row boat 
may be used in traveling from one pond to another 



132 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

through the connecting channel, and a trip of sev- 
eral miles by water enjoyed, with wooded banks 
on all sides. In general contour the country is 
broken and rugged, 

''Twelve thousand acres in the forest are owned 
by Ansel Dickinson's Sons of Ashuelot. A large 
portion of the tract has been in the Dickinson 
family from fifty to seventy-five years. About 1000 
acres owned by the Dickinsons today are virgin 
forest. A large amount of timber was cut off be- 
tween 1850 and 1870 by the late Capt. Ansel Dick- 
inson, and the lumber from the big trees was used in 
the construction of the paper mills at Holyoke. 
Previous to 1845 a large part of Pisgah Forest was 
owned by the Spencers of Hinsdale, who cut off 
millions of feet of old growth timber, sawed it into 
lumber in Hinsdale, and floated the lumber down 
the Connecticut on rafts to Hartford. There has 
been no increase by growth in the big pines in 
years, and in some cases there has naturally been 
a deterioration in the quality of the timber. The 
attitude of the town and state in recent years in in- 
creasing the taxes on the property has made a large 
expense account for the owners, and purely from a 
business standpoint it would be only natural for the 
Dickinsons to cut off the timber. The tract has been 
examined by a number of experienced foresters in 
recent years, and they have expressed a wish that 
it might be made a perpetual preserve, but even in 
this case it would undoubtedly be advisable to cut 
out much of the old growth. 

"For a novel and delightful day's outing we com- 
mend a trip to the big pines of Pisgah. Pedometer 
measurements showed twelve miles covered on the 
recent trip. The undergrowth is not particularly 
bothersome, and for a person in fair physical con- 
dition the tramp is not fatiguing. A pleasant half- 
hour is experienced at luncheon, eaten in the recess 
of the forest close to a cold spring, and the guide 
considerately makes several stops for rest, so that 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIIILI) 133 

those with flaccid muscles may not l)ecome weary. 
The fall is the best time of the year for the excur- 
sion, as there are no pestering- flies or insects in 
evidence, and the marshes which earlier in the sea- 
son are filled with water may now be crossed with- 
out even wetting the feet. One who loves the open, 
and particularly the woods, feels richly repaid for 
the expenditure of physical energy by a sight of the 
big trees, the ponds resting in great saucers of 
granite, and the fauna and flora which he has plenty 
of time to inspect in the eight hours in which he is 
in the woods." 

Three-States Point. There is a polished granite 
shaft on the west side of the Connecticut, a stone's 
throw east of the railroad tracks at South Vernon, 
which was erected by the states of Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire and Vermont in 1897, under the 
agreement made by their commissioners in 1894, 
defining the boundary line between these states es- 
tablished by the royal decree in 1740. It contains 
this inscription : 

'The S W corner of New Hampshire 
and the S E corner of Vermont is a point 
on the west bank of the Connecticut River 
in said (boundary) line now marked by 
a copper bolt in the apex of a granite 
monument X Lat 42° 43' 37.2" W Long 
72° 27' 32.1" S 87° 46' 45" E 582 feet from 
the centre of this marker." 

To Vernon Dam. Cross the Connecticut by 
Schell Bridge (one and three quarter miles), 
and ttirn square north at the end of the 
road. The route crosses over the Boston & 
Maine tracks by the ncAv iron bridge at West 
Northfield depot, then turns north to the right, 
past the state line granite shaft (on the left) and 
South Vernon House (on the right) and the Advent 
Christian Church and parsonage (on the left) in 
South A^ernon village, parallel and under the rail- 



134 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 




Advent Christian Church and Parsonage, South Vernon, Vt. 



road tracks, past Central Park and station. The 
dam is this side of Vernon depot and post-office 
(seven miles). 

The dam was built by the Connecticut River 
Power Company at a cost of over $3,000,000, in 1907- 
09. The power house is 250 feet long, logway fifty 
feet and spillway 600 feet ; total length, 900 feet. 
Height, thirty-four feet above average low water. 
The power house contains eight vertical water wheel 
units for the development of electricity. Ten large 
flood gates regulate the level of the backwater. Over 
a million bricks and 4200 square yards of cement 
were used in construction. 

The dam makes a pond that runs back twenty- 
two miles. The river level was raised fifteen feet at 
Brattleboro. 

The largest hydro-electric horse power east of 
Niagara Falls is produced — 25,000 horse power. It 
is transmitted as far as Worcester, Mass., sixty-six 
miles, by wires run in cables supported by steel 
towers sixty feet high and about 400 feet apart. 

Since the state line follows the line of vegetation 
on' the west bank of the Connecticut, the dam and 
power house are located wholly within the State of 



136 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

New Hampshire and township of Hinsdale. Hence 
the name "Vernon'' dam is a misnomer. 

To Brattleboro, Vt. The road on the east side of 

the Connecticut leads through Hinsdale, N. H. 
(seven miles — see above). Turn sharp to the left up 
hill after crossing Ashuelot River bridge. Keep to 
the left along the river, which spreads out wide 
when the waters are held back by the Vernon dam. 
Four miles north, at North Hinsdale, a monument 
at the junction of roads recalls Indian and French 
days : 

"In memory of 14 men who were way- 
laid by hidians near this place June 16, 
1748. 

"In memory of Sergeant Thomas Tay- 
lor, who with a party of 16 men was here 
overpowered by 100 French and Indians 
after heroic and bloody resistance, July 
14, 1748." 

Before Brattleboro is reached the road skirts the 
base of Mount Wantastiquet, which stands like a 
sentinel over the valley, 1300 feet high (the ascent 
of this mountain is worth while, though difficult), 
then to the left across a new iron bridge, into the 
town. Brattleboro is thirteen and a half miles 
from Belcher Fountain. 

On the west side of the river the road leads 
through Vernon, Vt., past the dam (sei^en miles — 
see above), past Vernon station, and along the foot- 
hills up the valley. Before reaching Brattleboro 
(fourteen miles) the site of Fort Dummer is passed 
at the Brooks Farm. Beyond is the Cascade, and 
Cemetery Hill. 

Visitors usually take the east side road in going 
to Brattleboro, and return b}^ the west side. 

Beyond Brattleboro the scenery on both sides of 
the river is imposing, the mountains gradually 
gaining in height. 

Ice Cave and Rattlesnake Den via Gulf Road. 

Turn east on Maple Street. Beyond one and a half 



ALL ABOUT XORTIIFILLD 137 

miles the Erving road forks to the rig-ht. The as- 
cent is steep, but the road is a picture as it climbs 
the easterly side of Brush Mountain. This bit is 
called the Gulf Road because a cloud-burst occurred 
here in 1866 which completely wiped out a large 
section of the road, leaving the rock bare. At three 
miles a road turns to the right and leads to the sum- 
mit of the hill. Ice Cave is reached by walking 
down into the ravine, where the rocky formation at 
the bottom fills solid with ice in the winter. Being 
shaded bA^ the thick foliage ice can be found in the 
crevices in July and August. Rattlesnake Den is 
near by, deriving its name from nests of rattle- 
snakes which infested this spot until they were 
cleared out some years ago. Brush Mountain was 
called Mish-om-assek by the Indians because of 
these rattlesnakes, and was held in superstitious 
veneration as the abode of Hobamok, the Evil Spirit. 

Ober's Lookout. The left fork where the Erving 
road turns off at one and a half miles (see last para- 
graph) leads a mile further up the side of Round 
Hill to Ober's Lookout (two and one half miles), 
where C. K. Ober of the Y. M. C. A. International 
Committee secured a summer residence twenty 
years ago. A new landscape meets the eye at this 
commanding elevation — 1000 feet. 

Crag Mountain. Crag is the highest eminence 
in Northfield township — 1600 feet. The view ex- 
tends far in every direction. Fourteen towns are 
visible on a clear day — with favorable weather con- 
ditions the sea can be seen. 

Take the Gulf Road (see above), beyond Ice 
Cave. Keep to the right at the schoolhouse fork 
(three and three quarter miles). A mile further 
the vehicle must be left and the rest of the journey 
to the summit performed on foot. 

To Warwick, Mass. Warwick is reached by 
Warwick Avenue and Happy Hollow, or by School 
Street, these routes uniting at two miles. The road 



138 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

now follows the course of Mill Brook between 
Notch Mountain (on the north) and Hemlock Moun- 
tain (on the south), and skirts Bolster and Flower 
Hills, and Alount Grace, at an elevation of 600 to 
900 feet. Distance, eight miles to the centre of the 
town. 

Warwick, whose Indian name was Sheamet, was 
originally called Gardner's Canada, or Roxbury, by 
the English, having been granted to descendants of 
the officers and soldiers who served in the expedition 
to Canada during King William's War in 1690. The 
present name was adopted at its incorporation in 
1763. 

Tradition has it that Mount Grace was so called 
after a child named Grace who was killed at its 
base by Indians who had captured her mother and 
were carrying her off. Its height is 1628 feet. "On 
its apex is a nearly round granite boulder some 
fifteen feet in diameter, evidently left there in the 
glacial period." 

Warwick and Winchester Drive. The drive to 
Warwick (eight miles) is described above. The 
road north, with Mount Grace at the left and Sunny 
Valley at the right further on, changes in scenery 
all the way until Winchester, N. H., is reached 
(sixteen miles). The return trip to Northfield 
through Lovers' Retreat (see above) gives a round 
trip of about twenty-three miles. 

SUMMARY OF DISTANCES 

From Belcher Memorial Fountain. 

MILES 

East Northfield Post Office Wz 

Seminary Reservoir . . 3 

Hog Back 4 

Pivot Rock 4 

Entrance Lovers' Retreat 3 

Pulpit Rock 5 

Winchester 7^2 

Forest Lake 9^2 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIRLD 139 

MILES 

Doolittle's Crossing 3^/4 

Hinsdale 7 

Ashuelot Depot via Davis Hill 6 

Ashnelot Depot via Hinsdale \\ 

Chesterfield 141/2 

Lake Spofford 16 

Schell Bridge 1^ 

Vernon Dam 7 

Brattleboro 13i^ 

Ober's Lookout 2^/2 

Ice Cave 3^/^ 

Crag Mountain 5 

Warwick 8 

Bennett's Meadow Bridge 1^2 

King Philip's Hill iy2 

Mount Hermon School Buildings 3 

Pickett's Pond via Bennett's Meadow Bridge . . . 2^/^ 
Bernardston 6 

Gill 51/2 

Factory Hollow 8^/^ 

Turners Falls 9 

Greenfield 12 

Beers' Memorial 1^ 

Munn's Ferry 3^/^ 

Northfield Farms Depot 5^/^ 

French King 6^2 

Miller's River mouth 7'V2 

Millers Falls 8/2 

Farley 11 

Hermit Rock 12 

Erving via Millers Falls 13^ 

Erving via Maple Street 8 

Huckle Hill and Vernon, round trip 18 

Bear's Den and Wild Cat Mountain, round trip . . 20 

Hell's Back Kitchen, round trip 12 

Warwick and Winchester Drive, round trip ... 23 
Ashuelot River Drive and Davis Mountain, round 

trip 17 

Ashuelot River Drive and Winchester, round trip . 20 




BIRDS OF NORTHFIELD 

THE following birds have been observed in 
Northfield by Miss Ellen C. Wood: 

Order: Coccyges (cuckoos and kingfish- 
ers). Family — Cuculidse : yellow-billed cuckoo, 
black-billed cuckoo. Family — Alcedinidse : belted 
kingfisher. 

Order: Pici (woodpeckers). Family — Picidse: 
hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, yellow-bel- 
lied woodpecker, flicker. 

Order : Macrochires (goatsuckers, swifts, hum- 
ming birds). Family — Caprimulgid?e : nighthawk, 
whip-poor-will. Family — Micropodidse : chimney 
swift. Family — Trochilid?e : humming bird. 

Order: Columb?e (pigeons). Family — Cokmibi- 
-dse : Carolina dove. 

Order: Passeres (perching birds). Family — 
Fringillidae or finches : English sparrow, field spar- 
row, song sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, tree 
sparrow, white-throated sparrow, chipping sparrow, 
fox sparrow, gold finch, junco, chewink, rose-breast- 
ed grosbeak, pine grosbeak, red poll linnet. Family 
— Tyrannidse : Kingbird, phoebe, pewee, olive-sided 
flycatcher, least flycatcher. Family — Corvidse : 
crow, blue jay. Family — Icterid?e : red-winged 



ALL ABOUT NORTH LI liLI) 



141 



l)lackl3)rcl, bronzed grackle, purple graekle, meadow 
lark, bobolink, cowl)ird, Baltimore oriole, orchard 
oriole. Family — ^Tanagridae : summer tanager, 

scarlet tanager. Family — Hirundinidae : barn swal- 
low, bank swallow, purple martin. Family — Am- 
pelidse: cedar bird. Famih- — Laniidc'e : northern 
shrike. Faniily — Vireonidse : white-eyed vireo, 
blue-headed and red-eyed vireo. Family — Mniotil- 
tidae : warblers — blackburnian, black-poll, black- 
throated green, black and white creeping, chestnut- 
sided, yellow, hooded, golden-winged, myrtle, par- 
ula, blue-winged yellow, magnolia, ovenbird, Mary- 
land yellow-throat, yellow-breasted chat. Family — 
Troglodytidae : thrasher, catbird, house wren, 
short-billed marsh wTcn. Family — Paridse : chicka- 
dee, white-breasted nuthatch, red-breasted nuthatch. 
Family — Turdidae : bluebird, robin, hermit thrush, 
wood thrush, veery or Wilson's thrush. 

Game and Other Birds : Spotted sandpiper, little 
green heron, big blue heron, big white heron, grouse, 
quail, turkey buzzard, sparrow hawk, chicken hawk,, 
owd. 




MINERALS OF NORTHFIELD 

THE following list of minerals observed in North- 
field has been furnished by Mr. Charles H. 
Webster : 

Adularia, in minute crystals, associated with cleave- 
landite. On Devonian quartzose mica-schist, near an 
old wood road in West Northfield. 

Amphibole. See Hornblende. 

AsTROPHYLLiTE. At the graphite locality near 
Erving road, Northfield Mountain. 

Arsenopyrite, in granular form, near the Swamp 
road, Northfield Mountain. 

BerVl. Crystals of pale greenish-white color have 
been found on Strowbridge Hill, and also near the 
Gulf road, some crystals being nearly ten inches in 
diameter. 

BiOTiTE (iron mica), in several localities, in im- 
perfect crystals showing only perhaps two or three 
perfect faces. 

Black Lead. See graphite. 

Chabazite. Broad thin squares about one half 
inch across, striated, bufif color from decomposition, 
have been found near a wood road wxst from the 
Gill to Vernon highw^ay, in fissures of Devonian 
mica-schist. 

Cleavelandite. White, lamellar formation, on 
Strowbridge Hill. 

CoLUMBiTE. A very rare mineral formerly found 
on Strowbridge Hill, but now exhausted. 

Concretions, or "clay stones." Found at low water 
on the bank of the Connecticut River at the lower end 
of Great Meadow, known as River Point. 

Cyanite. Rich blue in single crystals, also in 
fibrous gray. At the top of the Gulf road, toward 
Erving. 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 143 

EriDOTE. Found as yet only in traces on the moun- 
tains about Northfield. 

Feldspar. See orthoclase. 

FiBROLiTE has been found in boulders but never 
otherwise ; and these boulders were undoubtedly 
deposited during the glacial period, as they are all 
worn and rounded. 

Fluorite. Purple fluorite has been found on 
Switzer Mountain, east of Main Street ; in fissures in 
quartzite at Ross's lead mine, near the state line, in 
Winchester, N. H. 

Garnet. Fine specimens, almost suitable for cut- 
ting, are found on the old Chapin farm, about five 
minutes' walk east from the "black lead mine," North- 
field Mountain. Also fine specimens on Dickinson 
Hill, in partially disintegrated granitic rock. Some 
specimens measure an inch in diameter. 

Graphite occurs about one half mile south from the 
schoolhouse at the top of the mountain, near the Gulf 
Road, in Conway schist. 

Hematite_, in massive form, mechanically combined 
wath quartz, is found in boulders throughout the town. 

Hornblende usually occurs in massive form, though 
crystals are found occasionally. No particular locality. 
So far as located, specimens have been in boulders. 

Jasper^ a variety of quartz, occasionally found on 
the river bank, where good specimens of water-worn 
jasper in green, red and brown have been obtained. 

Kyanite. See cyanite. 

Menaccanite (sometimes called ''Titanic iron"). 
Found on land formerly Calvin Swan's home place. 
Broad, thin plates in transparent quartz. 

Mica. See Biotite, "iron mica''; Muscovite, 
"potash mica." 

Muscovite. The most plentiful of the family of 
micas. It is one of the constituents of granite, gneiss, 
mica-schist and other related rocks. Good specimens 
have been found in many localities in the town. 



144 ALL ABOUT XORTHFIELD 

Orthoclase. On Dickinson Hill, southeast from 
Main Street, and in many other localities. Fine white 
cleavages, seldom in crystalline form. 

Petrified Wood. Only one specimen has ever been 
found. This was obtained from the river bed, and 
was the stump of a tree that had become impregnated 
with silica. 

Prochlorite, in small, green crystals, is found asso- 
ciated with adularia in West Northfield. 

Pyrite occurs associated with mica, beryl, tourma- 
line and other minerals in several parts of the town. 

Quartz. This most common mineral is seldom 
found in Northfield in crystalline form. When crystals 
are discovered, they are of small size, and very opaque. 

Staurolite, sometimes in cruciform crystals, occurs 
in mica slate on the old Boston Turnpike and on Field's 
Hill, about two miles east from Main Street, associated 
with garnet. 

Sulphur, in minute crvstals, has been found with 
decomposing pyrite in hornblende gneiss on the east 
slope of Strowbridge Hill. 

Tourmaline, black only, of great beauty both of 
structure and color. A locality on Brush Mountain 
afifords fine crystals with perfect terminations in snow 
white quartz, but this locality is now exhausted. Fine 
specimens have also been obtained in a locality about 
one half mile from the Swamp road on Northfield 
Mountain, in quartz matrix slightly colored by oxide 
of iron. 



DIRECTORY OF GENERAL 
INFORMATION 



GOVERNMENT. 

The government of the town is vested in three 
selectmen, elected annnally, with other officers as 
follows : Clerk, treasnrer, three assessors, tax col- 
lector, auditor, three constables, tree warden, fence 
viewers, field drivers, pound keeper, surveyor of 
wood and lumber, sealer of weights and measures, 
fire wardens, registrars of voters, inspectors of 
provisions, inspector of animals ; also school and 
library committees and cemetery commissioners. 

Elections occur at a towm meeting held the first 
Monday in March. This system of government 
was transplanted from the mother country, with a 
few modifications to suit the more democratic con- 
ditions here. 

Number of registered voters, 372. 

TOWN OFFICERS, 1910-11. 

Selectmen, Osgood L. Leach, Charles L. Robbins, Arthur 
W. Proctor. 

Town Clerk and Treasnrer, Warren J. Wright. 

Assessors, Samuel C. Holton, F. Leslie Tyler, Clinton A. 
Ware. 

School Committee, Leonard R. Smith. Osgood L. Leach, 
Nellie M. Wood. 

Library Committee, Benjamin F. Field, Norman P. 
Wood, S. Catherine Richardson, N. Fay Smith, H. W. 
Montague, Arthur E. Wilson. 

Librarian, Mrs. C. A. Randall. 

Cemetery Commissioners, R. E. Dickinson, George N. 
Kidder, Freeman A. Hilliard. 

Constables, Fred W. Doane, Fred H. Watson, Dwight L. 
Proctor. 

Auditor, Walter H. Waite. 

Tree Warden, Fred W. Doane. 

Fence Viewers, E. E. Russell, A. A. Newton, Fred W. 
Doane. 



146 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

Field Drivers, J. W. Field, W. J. Wright. 

Pound Keeper, James Wall. 

Surveyors of Wood and Lumber, C. R. Nelson, F. W. 
Williams, S. G. Titus, Lewis Fowler, H. H. Chamberlain, 
C. E. Leach. 

Tax Collector, Merrill T. Moore. 

Sealer of Weights and Measures, Joseph R. Colton. 

Fire Wardens, F. W. Doane, C. H. Webster, H. C. 
Holton, Charles Gilbert, A. A. Newton. 

Registrars of Voters, Francis J. Stockbridge, John T. 
Callaghan, Ralph O. Leach. 

Inspectors of Provisions, Frank E. Heald, Freeman A. 
Hilliard, J. E. Ross, C. W. Stratton, J. J. Fisher. 

Inspector of Animals, Frank E. Heald. 

POST-OFFICES. 

Northfield. Established 1797, when the mails 
were brought by stage from Worcester once (and 
later twice) a week, containing not more than half 
a dozen letters and three or four Boston papers. To- 
day Northfield is a third-class post-office, the centre 
of two rural free delivery routes. Six incoming and 
six outgoing mails daily except Sunday. Post- 
master, C. H. Webster. Location, Webster Block, 
Main Street. 

East Northfield. Established 1891. Second-class 
post-ofifice. Seven incoming and six outgoing mails 
daily except Sunday. Postmaster, L. R. Smith. 
Location, Bookstore Building, Moody Street. 

West Northfield. Established 1887. Fourth-class 
post-office. Twelve incoming and twelve outgoing 
mails daily except Sunday. Postmaster, E. B. 
BufTum. Location, BufTum's store. 

Northfield Farms. Established . Fourth- 

class post-office. Four incoming and four outgoing 
mails daily except Sunday. Postmistress, Mrs. 
H. A. AVood. Location, near depot. 

Mount Hermon. Established 1887. Third-class 
post-office. Six incoming and five outgoing mails 
daily except Sunday. Postmaster, Charles D. 
Streeter. Location, Motmt Hermon depot. 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 147 

CHURCHES. 

In the early settlements, following the custom of 
those times, the affairs of the church were arranged 
by the town. Provision was made in town meeting 
for the "encouragement" and living comforts of the 
minister, while the singers and organist and care- 
taker were also paid out of the town treasury. 

The first public religious exercises in town were 
held by Elder Janes under a large oak which stood 
at the south end of Main Street, at the location 
marked by the memorial boulder. Successive meet- 
ing houses were built as the years went by, until 
divisions into denominations arose. The history of 
the present churches is as follows : 

Unitarian Church. Main Street and Parker Ave- 
nue. Erected in 1871 ; cost,. $15,000. Seating ca- 
pacity of auditorium, 300. 

It was during the ministry of Rev. Thomas Ma- 
son, who had been called to the parish in 1799 while 
it still embraced the whole town, that the contro- 
versy broke out in New England between orthodoxy 
and unitarianism. Mr. Mason was liberal in thought 
and joined the Unitarian denomination when it was 
organized independently. He carried most of the 
townspeople with him. On February 24, 1826, the 
first parish ^vas organized as distinct from the town. 
In 1827, apparently for personal reasons, fifty-six 
members of the first parish withdrew and founded 
the "Unitarian Society of Northfield," calling the 
Rev. Samuel Presbury as minister in February, 
1828. After his retirement in September, 1829, and 
the dismissal of Rev. Thomas Mason in February, 
1830, these dissenters returned to the first parish, 
which may be regarded as the Unitarian Society 
after this reunion. Successive ministers have been : 
Rev. George AV. Hosmer, 1830-36; Rev. Oliver 
Capen Everett, 1837-48; Rev. AVilliam C. Tenney, 
1849-58; Rev. John Murrav, 1859-64; Rev. Charles 
Noyes, 1865-72; Rev. Jabez T. Sunderland, 1872-76; 



148 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

Rev. Samuel P. Putnam, 1876-79; Rev. John Lewis 
Marsh, 1879-84; Rev. George Charles Wright, 1884- 
86; Rev. Alfred E. Mnllett, 1887-88; Rev. Samuel R. 
Free, 1889-92; Rev. George F. Piper, 1892-1903; 
Rev. Daniel AI. Wilson, 1904-09; Rev. Arthur Ed- 
ward Wilson, 1910. 

Services are held Sundays at 10.45 a.m., Sunday 
school at 12. 

Congregational Church. Main Street, near Mill 
Brook. Erected in 1888-89; cost, $28,000. Seating 
capacity of auditorium, 1200; perhaps the largest 
in the county. 

The second parish of Northfield was organized 
on November 15, 1825, by thirty men and women 
who could not accept the new^ theology and so with- 
drew from the old church. Their names are in- 
scribed on a marble tablet in the southwest vesti- 
bule. On February 28, 1829, they incorporated as 
the "Trinitarian Society of Northfield," and erected 
a typical New England meeting house on Main 
Street. This was outgrown by the increasing au- 
diences due to the return of D. L. Moody and the 
crowds of conference visitors and students he at- 
tracted : hence the new and larger building. 

The old parish system was relinquished in 1899, 
and a regular church organization effected. The 
corporate name is "The Trinitarian Congregational 
Church of Northfield, Mass." 

Successive pastors have been : Rev. Eli Moodv, 
1826-30; Rev. Bancroft Fowler, 1831-36; Rev. Ho- 
ratio J. Lombard, 1836-40; Rev. Nathaniel Richard- 
son, 1840-42; Rev. Luther Farnham, 1844-45; Rev. 
Willard Jones, 1859-61 ; Rev. Isaac Perry, 1862-65 ; 
Rev. Theodore J. Clark, 1865-80; Rev. Ellis R. 
Drake, 1880-87; Rev. Silas P. Cook, 1889-94; Rev. 
Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, 1896-1903; Rev. Nelson 
Fay Smith, 1903. 

Stated services are held on Sundays at 10.45 a.m., 
12, 6.45 and 7.30 p.m. ; Thursdays at 8 p.m. 



ALL ABOUT NORTH LI ELD 149 

Roman Catholic Church, Main Street. The North- 
field church is a mission of the Millers Falls parish. 
The building was erected in 1886 under the guidance 
of Rev. P. I. Ouaile, who was then pastor of the 
Roman Catholic families in town. The Roman 
Catholic cemetery had already been purchased in 
1880, and services were held in the Town Hall. 
Present pastor, Rev. J. S. Neligan. 

Services every alternate Sunday at 8.30 a.m. 

Russell Sage Chapel, Northfield Seminary, is open 
to the public at daily chapel and Sunday evening 
services. The buildinsf is described in another 
chapter. 



'fe 



Mount Hermon Chapel, Mount Hermon School. 
As at Sage Chapel, services are open to the public, 
and nearby neighbors worship here. See further 
description in another chapter. 

Advent Christian Church, South Vernon. Though 
not actually within the township of Northfield, this 
church serves West Northfield, and a description 
will not be out of place here. 

The society is the largest religious body in Ver- 
non, and has held meetings for over fifty years. On 
March 5, 1860, a meeting was held to consider the 
erection of a chapel, which was decided upon favor- 
ably. A chapel was built about two miles back, and 
dedicated on July 7, 1860. The society was incorpo- 
rated in 1874. 

At a meeting held on January 19, 1909, it ^was 
voted to build a new church in a more central lo- 
cation, and the solicitation of funds met with a 
hearty response from all classes. The present edi- 
fice was dedicated on December 29, 1909, free of 
debt; cost, $6500. Seating capacity of auditorium, 
175. Pastor, Rev. A. E. Phelps. 

Services are held Sundays at 10.45 a.m., 12, 6.30 
and 7 p.m. ; Thursdays at 7.30 p.m. 



150 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

At the present time (1910) a high school, two 
graded schools and four district schools are main- 
tained in Northfield township, located as follows : 

High school and centre graded school, on Main 
Street; East Northfield graded school, on Pine 
Street; District schools, at West Northfield (Dick- 
inson Hall), No. 3 (Upper Farms), Northfield 
Farms and Northfield Mountain. 

A search of the records shows that it was the 
policy in early years to establish a school in any 
section of the township as soon as there was ade- 
quate local need. The policy in recent years, how- 
ever, has been to centralize. Northfield forms, with 
Warwick, Gill and Leyden, a school union under the 
supervision of one superintendent. Instead of keep- 
ing a number of district schools open the town 
transports children to central schools where grading 
insures better instruction. The high school was es- 
tablished in 1891, and last year served residents of 
Warwick, Gill, Winchester, N. H., Vernon and Lon- 
donderry, Vt., as well as Northfield. 

A high school building is in process of erection 
on the west side of Main Street, north of Meadow 
Street. 

School superintendent, E. F. Howard. 

Statistics for the Year Ending June, 1909. 

Number of pupils enrolled .... 322 

Number of teachers 14 

Number of weeks open 36-40 

Taxation for support of schools 

(per thousand dollars) ... $ 3.78 

Average cost per pupil 29.76 

PATRIOTIC AND FRATERNAL ORDERS. 

Harmony Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted 
Masons. Instituted in 1796 with fifteen charter 
members, its charter being signed by Paul Revere, 
Most Eminent Grand Master of Massachusetts! 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 151 

Coniiiiunications have been held regularly since its 
inception, except for twenty years during- the anti- 
IMasonic excitement of 1830-50. Meets Wednesday 
evenings on or before full moon, in Masonic Hall, 
School Street. 

Order of the Eastern Star, Northfield Chapter, 
No. 82. Meets in Masonic Hall Wednesday even- 
ings after full moon. 

Grand Army of the Republic, Henry H. Johnson 
Post. Named for an honored citizen-soldier of this 
tow^n, a member of Co. C, 27th Massachusetts 
Infantry. Instituted August 15, 1884, with twenty- 
seven charter members. Meets third Friday of each 
month except July and August, in Proctor Block. 
Deaths and removals have thinned the roll to nine- 
teen ; complete roster, fifty-seven. 

Henry H. Johnson Woman's Relief Corps, No. 
164. Organized in December, 1894, with twenty- 
two charter members. Meets the first and third 
Fridays of each month except July and August, in 
Proctor Block. 

Sons of Veterans, No. 121, Rollin C. Ward Camp. 

Installed July 24, 1896, and named in honor of Dr. 
Rollin C. Ward, then a resident physician and a 
veteran of the Civil War. Membership open to sons 
and grandsons of veterans. Object, to perpetuate 
the principles and institutions for which their fathers 
foug-ht. The Camp purchased the old Congrega- 
tional Church building on Main Street in 1898 ; this 
was burnt to the ground on January 12, 1910. Meets 
the first and third Tuesdays of each month, in 
Proctor Block. 

Sons of Veterans Auxiliary. Meets the second 
and fourth Thursdavs of each month, in Proctor 
Block. 

Northfield Grange, No. 3, Patrons of Husbandry. 

Meets at Floral Cottage, Maple Street, on the sec- 
ond and fourth Tuesdavs of each month. 



152 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

Squakheag Tribe, No. 149, Independent Order of 
Red Men. Meets first and third Thursdays of each 
month in Floral Cottage, Maple Street. 

The Fortnightly. Meets alternate Mondays from 
September to Alay, in Dickinson Library Hall, for 
study and social affairs. 



THE NORTHFIELD VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT 

SOCIETY. 

A Village Improvement Society was organized in 
Northfield in 1895, and was incorporated under the 
above title in 1909. Its stated object is "to establish 
a body of recognized authority to deal w^ith all 
matters tending to the improvement and beautify- 
ing of the town." Its operations have included the 
planting of shrubs and trees in street plots, in front 
of the Town Hall and Library, etc. ; flower shows 
and the encouragement of children in raising flow- 
ers; arousing public sentiment as to the keeping of 
lawns; sprinkling and lighting the streets; placing 
of street signs, and so on. This society was also 
entrusted by Mrs. A. M. D. Alexander in 1897 with 
placing the memorial stones at historic, spots. In 
1909 it w^as the recipient of a bequest of $2000 under 
the will of the Misses Mary A. and Eliza Belcher, 
the income of which is to be "used yearly, particu- 
larly in caring for the trees." 

President, 1910, Dr. X. P. Wood. 

WATER COMPANIES. 

Northfield Water Company. Incorporated, $10,- 
000 capital. Originally there were two water com- 
panies at the centre, both drawing upon the same 
sources on the easterly hills about two miles out 
Warwick Avenue. On March 9, 1797, the first of 
these was organized by nine citizens who incorpor- 
ated as ''Proprietors of the Aqueduct in Northfield," 



ALL ABOUT NOLiTlIlUELD 153 

for the purpose of conveying" water by subterranean 
pipes. One company ran up Main Street to B. F. 
Field's, the other south to C. H. Green's. When the 
log- pipes gave out the two companies got together 
and formed the Northfield Water Company. A reser- 
voir was built with a capacity of 350,000 gallons, and 
new pipes were laid in Main Street as far as Dr. 
Pentecost's on the north and James Wall's on the 
south. Pressure, eighty to ninety pounds. Presi- 
dent, C. H. Webster; treasurer, B. F. Field. 

Dry Swamp Aqueduct Corporation. This has 
operated for a hundred years, but was incorporated 
in November, 1864. There are eleven proprietors 
who are the users of the system, which draws its 
supph' from springs and Miller's Brook, out Maple 
Street, in the section called the Dry Swamp in the 
early days of settlement. The corporation is 
managed by three directors elected annually. Clerk 
and treasurer. F. J. Stockbridge. 

East Northfield Water Company. Owned by 
Northfield Seminary. Reservoir built on the hillside 
behind Dr. Mabie's in 1904. The pipes connect with 
all the Seminary buildings, the Northfield Hotel, 
and a limited number of private residences. The 
old system is in Bonar Glen, and connection is some- 
times made to meet the extra summer demand. There 
is a pressure of about 150 pounds, sufficient to throw 
a stream of water over the Auditorium towers. Man- 
ager, A. G. Moody. 

Mountain Park Water Supply, with Crystal 
Spring reservoir, is owned by Mrs. Alice L. Wood- 
bury, and serves cottages in the Mountain Park 
tract in East Northfield. 

The water supply in town is quite inadequate for 
present demands. The town ought to take over this 
public utility from the private companies and make 
far-sighted, generous provision for future increase 
in household and commercial needs. 



154 ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 

NORTHFIELD CO-OPERATIVE CREAMERY ASSO- 
CIATION. 

On Glen Street, east of Alain Street. Organized 
as a cooperative creamery in 1885, the stock being 
taken mostly by patrons. The purpose of the Asso- 
ciation is to carry on the manufacture and sale of 
milk products in such manner as shall conduce to 
the greatest convenience and profit of the producers. 
The plant and machinery is valued at $4400. Out- 
put : 400 pounds of butter daily, requiring the milk 
of 600 or more cows, on five routes, covering a 
radius of ten miles. The net monthly payments for 
milk amount to $2500. The net profits are divided 
pro rata among the patrons according to the amount 
of cream furnished by each. Treasurer and super- 
intendent, Charles C. Stearns. 



DICKINSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY. 



For the Year Ending February 3, 1910. 

Volumes in library last report 6,787 

Purchased last year 335 

Given past year 48 

Books dropped or worn out 30 

Magazines bound (vol.) 14 

Books bound 20 

Total in library 7,174 

Number of families patrons of library . . . . 224 

Individuals patrons of library 67 

Number of books taken by families 9,449 

Number of books taken by public schools . . . 371 

Number of books taken by visitors 397 

Magazines circulated 2,453 

Publications subscribed for in reading room . . 22 

Publications given regularly 10 

Number of readers using reading room . . . 2,540 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 155 

CEMETERIES. 

Centre Cemetery. Located on Meadow Hill, di- 
rectly west of the Northfield railroad station, with 
a magnificent view of the river valley and western 
hills. A piece of land was reserved here for a 
burying place in 1685, the location being tradition- 
ally selected because Sergeant Samuel Wright had 
been killed here by Indians ten years before, and his 
bones when found buried where he fell. Here lie 
the remains of Northfield's heroic and sainted dead 
since the earliest days, the founders and ancestors 
of the older families of today. The inscriptions on 
the older tombstones will interest the antiquarian : 
some quaint in their conceits, others expressive of 
tenderest love and disappointed hopes, still others 
direct in their religious warning and appeal. These 
inscriptions were copied and quoted in Temple and 
Sheldon's "History." The graves of some widely 
known figures in Northfield's more recent history 
will also be found here, including Major D. W. 
Whittle, Mrs. Lucy Guinness Kumm, and others. 

Mount Hermon Cemetery, on Bennett's Hill, on 
the highway to Mount Hermon School. On March 
19, 1781, the town voted to lay out this burying 
ground, about one acre in extent. 

West Northfield Cemetery, near Dickinson Hall. 

Farms Cemetery. One quarter acre bought on 
May 11, 1811; several additions since then. Near 
the depot. 

Swamp Cemetery, in the southeast section of the 
town. Land purchased in 1814. 

Mountain Cemetery, also in the southeast corner 
of the town. 

St. Mary's Cemetery, belonging to the Roman 
Catholic Church, purchased in 1880. Located on St. 
Mary Street. 



156 ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 

BRIDGES. 

Bennett's Meadow Bridge, joining Great Meadow 
and Bennett's Meadow, on the highway to Mount 
Hermon School. Gill, Bernardston and Greenfield. 
Built in 1898-99 by the Franklin County Commis- 
sioners, at a cost of about $40,000. Reversed canti- 
lever style, the support of the iron superstructure 
being wholly on the two masonry piers, thus leav- 
ing the river unobstructed. Total length, 612 feet; 
river span, 360 feet ; two shore spans, each 108 
feet ; height of under side at the centre above 
the ordinary summer level of the river, forty feet; 
height of top of iron work, eighty-six feet. The 
steel superstructure weighs 304 tons, and is sup- 
ported upon two granite piers, the westerly of which 
is founded upon a ledge of rock which juts out into 
the river, while the easterly pier is built upon a con- 
crete and pile foundation. 

Schell Memorial Bridge, connecting East North- 
field and West Northfield. Erected by Francis 
Robert Schell in 1902-03 in memory of his father 
and mother, and presented to the town. River 
span, 352 feet ; two shore spans, eighty feet each ; 
total length between abutments, 512 feet. Its under 
side, at the centre of the span, is forty-eight feet 
above the ordinary summer level of the Connecticut, 
and its top ninety-five feet. The steel superstructure, 
which weighs 265 tons, is supported upon two 
granite piers which are built upon concrete and pile 
foundations. The abutments are of concrete, rein- 
forced w^ith steel beams and bars, and faced with 
granite ashlar. Upon each abutment, at the right 
side, is a bronze tablet bearing this memorial in- 
scription : 

"This bridge is erected in memory 
of Robert and Mary Schell of New 
York, by their son, Francis Robert 
Schell. 1903." 



ALL ABOUT NORTH PI ELD 157 

The cost of the brid^c^e was over $42,000. The 
designer and chief engineer was Edward S. Shaw 
of Boston, who also designed the Bennett's Meadow 
Bridge, of which the Schell Bridge is ahnost a 
twin. 

Railway Bridge. In 1849 a double-deck wooden 
bridge was built over the Connecticut at this point. 
The upper deck was used by the Vermont & 
iMassachusetts Railway, the lower being the only 
highway across the river in the township. This 
plan was relinquished when the other bridges were 
built for traffic, and the railway built the present 
steel structure in 1904-05. The distance from shore 
to shore at the face of the masonry is 750 feet, and 
the height from the base of rails to the river is 
seventy-two feet. Weight of steel in the structure, 
1,504,400 pounds. 

FERRIES. 

Two ferries are still supported by the towns of 
Northheld and Gill — Munn's Ferry and Gill Ferry. 
These are not only conveniences in crossing the 
river during the summer, but also picturesque relics 
of an old-time necessity fast disappearing before 
the advance in bridge building. 

The flat-bottomed ferry boat is pulled back and 
forth by the ferryman by means of a heavy half- 
inch wire stretched from bank to bank. His com- 
pensation is in part derived from the small tolls 
collected of passengers. 

FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

The Northfield Hose Company meets twice a 
month for practice and drill. Equipment : Hose 
cart and 3000 feet of hose, and hand ladder truck. 
The equipment is kept in a building at the rear of 
the Town Hall. Members are paid for their ser- 
vices by the town. The water pressure is eighty 
to ninety pounds. Fire chief, Albert ^^^ Meade. 



ALL ABOUT NORTH PI ELD 159 

RAILROAD STATIONS. 

Northfield. The Vermont & Massachusetts Rail- 
road built its road throughout Northfield and opened 
the depot at the foot of Parker Avenue in 1850. In 
1887 the depot was changed to a freight house and 
a new depot was built. The latter was burnt in 1902 
and the present building was then erected. The 
road was leased later to the Central Vermont Rail- 
road, and is now controlled by the Grand Trunk. 
The usual schedule gives three passenger trains 
each way daily, with an unlimited number of 
freight trains between Canada and the Atlantic sea- 
board. Incoming freight for Northfield is chiefly 
coal and merchandise ; outgoing freight, lumber and 
farm produce. Station agent, G. W. Ellison. 

West Northfield and South Vernon, on the west 
bank of the Connecticut River, just south of the 
state line. Used jointly by the Central Vermont 
Railroad and the Boston & Maine Railroad for its 
Connecticut & Passumpsic Division, and the Ash- 
uelot Branch. About thirty passenger trains daily 
use this junction, and scores of freight trains. This 
depot is used largely by passengers from the north, 
west and south for the East Northfield schools and 
conferences. Station agent, F. A. Adams. 

Mount Hermon. This depot on the Boston & 
Maine Railroad (Connecticut & Passumpsic Divis- 
ion) was opened in 1885, chiefly for the convenience 
of the school. Five trains daily make regular stops 
here. It is the home of Mount Hermon post-oflice 
and the American Express office. Station agent, 
Charles D. Streeter. 

Gill. Flag station on the Central A'ermont Rail- 
road, three miles south of Northfield. The prox- 
imity of Munn's Ferry enables this station to serve 
the convenience of residents of Gill. 



160 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 



Northfield Farms. On the Central Verniont 
Railroad, six miles south of Northfield. Station 
agent, Don Spragiie. 

RAILROAD DISTANCES. 



li 


IILES 




AHLES 


Northfield to 




Fabyan's (White 




West Northfield 


2 


Mountains) 


156 


Gill 


3 


Montreal 


264 


Northfield Farms 


6 


Mount Hermon 


3 


Millers Falls 


9 


Greenfield 


13 


Amherst 


24 


Northampton 


32 


Palmer 


44 


Holyoke 


42 


Norwich 


96 


Springfield 


50 


New London 


109 


Hartford 


76 


Boston via Mil- 




New Haven 


112 


lers Falls 


107 


New York 


185 






Keene 


24 


West Northfield 


or 


Troy via Green- 




South Vernon 


to 


field 


98 


Brattleboro 


10 


Rochester via 




Bellows Falls 


34 


Greenfield 


319 


White River Jet. 


74 


Buffalo via 




Wells River Jet. 


115 


Greenfield 


388 



AMERICAN EXPRESS OFFICES. 

At Northfield depot. Dwight L. Proctor, agent. 
Wagon makes one trip daily through Northfield and 
East Northfield ; more if necessary. 

At West Northfield and South Vernon depot. 
Fred Barrows, agent. 

At Mount Hermon depot. Charles D. Streeter, 
agent. 

At Northfield Farms depot. Don Sprague, agent. 



TELEGRAPH SERVICE. 



The Western Union Telegraph Company has of- 
fices at Northfield, East Northfield and West North- 
field. The rate to points in Massachusetts, Con- 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 161 

necticiit, Rhode Island and nearby towns in Ver- 
mont and New Hampshire is twenty-five cents. 
NeAv York, thirty cents. Buffalo, forty cents. 

TELEPHONE SERVICE. 

The Northfield Exchange covers Northfield, East 
Northfield, West Northfield, Northfield Farms and 
Mount Hermon, and South Vernon. 

"Long distance" connections can be made ac- 
cording to the following schedule : 

Ten cent toll — Millers Falls, Turners Falls, Hins- 
dale, Ashuelot, AVinchester, Warwick, Erving. 

Fifteen cent toll — Greenfield, Bernardston, Gill, 
Brattleboro, Athol, Orange, Farley. 

Twenty cent toll — South Deerfield, Keene. 

Twenty-five cent toll — Northampton, Williams- 
town, Amherst. 



Springfield, Mass. 


$ .30 


Fitchburg 


$ .30 


Hartford, Conn. 


.50 


Worcester 


.30 


New Haven, Conn. 


.75 


Palmer 


.30 


New York City 


1.25 


Boston 


.50 



TOWN ASSETS, 1910. 

Schoolhouses $14,000 00 

Public library 20,000 00 

Other public buildings 11,000 00 

Other real estate 3,000 00 

Cemeteries 500 00 

Fire apparatus 800 00 

Trust funds 8,470 00 

A. M. D. Alexander fund and interest .... 6,520 50 

Town tools 100 00 

Town Hall furnishings 1,000 00 

Schoolhouse furnishings 1,500 00 

Hearse 600 00 

Schoolhouse lot 3,800 00 

Memorial fountain 1,900 00 

Total $73,190 50 



162 



ALL ABOUT NORTHFIELD 



ASSESSMENTS FOR 1910-11. 

Town Appropriations. 

Bennett's ]\Ieadow Bridge debt $ 1,410 00 

Town Hall debt 600 00 

East Northfield schoolhouse debt 400 00 

Sidewalks debt 400 00 

Field lot debt 300 00 

Schools in general 3,600 00 

School books 450 00 

School repairs 300 00 

School conveyance 700 00 

Superintendent of schools 300 00 

Contingent and poor 3,500 00 

Highways 3,000 00 

Library 700 00 

Tax collector 200 00 

Tree warden 150 00 

School physician 50 00 

High school building 1,000 00 

Memorial Day 50 00 

Cemeteries 150 00 

Graveling West Northfield highway .... 300 00 

Building new Pierson Road 300 00 

Plowing snow 50 00 

Tables for Town Hall 25 00 

Unitarian Church sheds 100 00 

Glenwood Avenue extension 100 00 

Enforcing State motor laws and erecting signs 25 00 

New boat, Munn's Ferrv . 300 00 

State tax for 1909-10 1,620 00 

State highway tax for 1909-10 57 85 

County tax for 1909-10 2,445 70 



BONDED DEBT, 1910. 



Bennett's Meadow Bridge bonds payable $500 

annually with interest at 3^^% $25,500 00 

East Northfield schoolhouse, payable $400 an- 
nually 1,200 00 

Town Hall, payable $600 annuallv 2,400 00 

Sidewalks, payable $400 annually 800 00 

Total $29,900 00 



ALL ABOUT NORTIIFIELD 163 



SUMMARY OF VALUATION AND TAXES, 1909-10. 

Residents assessed on propert}' — individuals . 416 

All others 43 

459 

Non-residents assessed on property — individuals 193 

All others 14 

207 

Persons assessed on property 666 

Polls only 147 

813 

Male polls assessed 427 

Male polls exempt 15 

Horses assessed 440 

Cows assessed 660 

Neat cattle assessed 249 

Sheep assessed 131 

Swine assessed 106 

Dwelling houses assessed 535 

Acres of land assessed 19,691^ 

Value of assessed personal estate .... $ 223,725 00 

Value of assessed real estate — buildings . . 714,404 00 

Value of assessed real estate — land .... 415,184 00 

$1,129,588 00 

Total $1,353,313 00 

Rate of total tax per $1,000 $ 16 00 

Tax on each male poll 2 00 

Tax for state, county and town purposes, in- 
cluding overlay — on personal estate ... $ 3,579 60 

Real estate 18,073 40 

Polls 824 00 

$22,477 00 



AFTERWORD 

THE compilation of this volume has led the 
writer to feel increasingly that there is both 
need and room for a more detailed record 
than this of the life and times in Northfield since 
1875. 

Northfield would undoubtedly prove to be an 
illuminative example of the typical New England 
town of the nineteenth century if the stories about 
its people and their doings were collected. Doubtless 
the elderly members of the community have memo- 
ries rich in anecdote, which ought to be recorded 
before it is too late. Old title deeds and documents 
would repay another search. There must be papers 
and pictures of historic value in the possession of 
the older families. An interesting and valuable 
chapter might be written upon public buildings 
(such as the old Trinitarian Church) that have 
meant much in the life of the town and are passing 
away all too rapidly. The migration of the young 
people to the cities and to the West, the rigid 
observance of Sunday before the Civil War, the 
political strifes over the abolition of slavery, stories 
of occult happenings, the deserted farms on the 
hills, traceable now by the foundations of the houses 
and the orchards run wild, the eccentric characters 
and striking personalities, stories of love and dis- 
appointment and romance — there is plentiful ma- 
terial for a more detailed and ambitious history 
than this aims to be. 

A Mary Wilkins may yet arise who will find 
both inspiration and subjects in Northfield, while 
the colonial times afi"ord an attractive setting for 
historical novels based on real life. 

Northfield's future welfare is in a peculiar sense 
in the hands of the townspeople of today. True, 
the physical beauty of its setting is, in the larger 



ALL ABOUT NORT II FIELD 165 

outlines, independent of man. The river and the 
hills do not change. But what special attractiveness 
would the hills have if stripped of their woods? 
What would Main Street be without its rows of 
stately trees? In absence of manufacturing facilities 
these are Northfield's great natural attractions, and 
should be generously preserved, extended, perpetu- 
ated. The existence of a healthy, far-sighted public 
sentiment regarding them is a promising sign. The 
townspeople should be so imbued with a sense of 
their value that new residents and even passing 
visitors must catch the enthusiasm and appreciation. 

Every passing year also adds to the value of 
Northfield's historic associations. Why not famil- 
iarize ourselves more thoroughly with them? Why 
not revive the picturesque Indian names, whose 
meanings are so distinctive ? Why not add to the 
antiquarian documents and articles in Dickinson Li- 
brary? Northfield surely has the possibility of 
building up a valuable historical museum. Many 
precious relics that were deposited in the Deerfield 
museum some years ago should now more rightly 
be on exhibit here. No move has yet been made by 
the town to gather and preserve articles connected 
with D. L. Moody. Another generation will look 
with veneration on his trundle bed, and on the old 
family Bible and book of devotions used daily by 
his mother at the family altar. Every year that 
such articles are neglected increases the risk of 
their loss. 

In its larger relations the future of Northfield is 
of course wrapped up in the future of New England 
rural life. And what of that? Let ex-Governor 
John D. Long reply : 

"There is no fear for the future of New England 
rural life. It will be a different life from that of a 
generation or two ago. It will be not a unique but 
a conglomerate population. It will not be a Puritan 
New England, but it will be the New England of 
the twentieth century, with a seaboard rich in 



166 



ALL ABOUT NORTH FIELD 



foreign commerce, with great cities, with factories 
and all sorts of skilled industry dotting its inland, 
with the most improved means of locomotion every- 
where from hamlet to centre, and with its fields 
and farms cultured and productive, furnishing the 
living and the profit of the farmer who depends on 
the soil, or representing the wealth and leisure of 
those who retire or turn to country life and expend 
upon it the surplus of their profits gained in com- 
merce or manufacture." 

Meanwhile, local intelligence and pride ought to 
make local history and geography and biography a 
part of the earliest instruction of every child in the 
schools and in the home. 

A. P. F. 




g 1%-*' I lU 



Winter Sports at "The Northfield." 




Rev» R» /!• Tofey, D»D», says: 

" I am so impressed by it that I feel that 
every minister and Christian worker 
should obtain a copy. The introductions 
to the different books are simply invalua=i 
ble ; they pack more sometimes into a 
single sentence than other books put in a 
volume. The footnotes also are of great 
value. The references are beyond all com° 
parison better than in any other Bible 
with which I am acquainted. The para° 
graph divisions oftentimes throw a flood 
of light upon the verses that follow." 

Edited by 
REV. C. f. SCOFIELD, D.O. 

"With the assistance of many of the most eminent 
scholars and divines. 

Size, 5^X8 inches. 

Oxford White Paper, $2.00 to $5.00 
Oxford India Paper, $6.50 to $10.00 

Sold by all booksellers. A full descriptive 
circular on request. 

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 

AMERICAN BRANCH, 35 W. 32nd St., NEW YORK 



Books Worth Buying 



MOODY, Paul Dwight 

"I Have Seen the Lord"; The First Easter Sermon $ .30 

A thoughtful, inspiring address on a living topic, whose 
delivery led to requests for its publication. 

SPEER. Robert E. 

The Second Coming of Christ $ .30 

"Mr. Speer treats this somewhat neglected subject as 
though it were the most interesting topic of the day. " — United 
Presbyteriaii. 

BLAIKIE, William Garden 

Steps Unto Heaven: Meditations and Prayers on the 
Psalms $1.50 

"Reflects the intellect of the scholarly theologian with the 
simplicity of one deeply taught in divine truth." — Record. 

McAFEE. Cleland Boyd 

The Growing Church $ .50 

"Every page is suggestive, aiming straight at the prob- 
lems that we face today in church life." — Christian Endeavor 
World. 

The Worth of a Man $ .30 

What man is, and four facts that raise him above all 
other creatures, with consequent obligations toward God and 
man. 

PITT, A. P. 

Text for Today 

A verse of Scripture for every day in the year, with a 
pointed comment or a personal question to stimulate thought 
and meditation. 

Three editions: Vest pocket edition, with calendars for 
1910-1911, 88 pages, leatherette covers, 25 cents net; Diary 
edition, the same with blank interleaves, leather covers, 35 
cents net; Table edition, 7^x4//^ inches, cloth covers, 35 
cents net. 



FITT, A. P. 

The Transmission and Integrity of the Bible Text $ .10 

Chapters answering such questions as: Can the original 
documents be produced? If not, have we recovered the origi- 
nal text, and how? How account for the variations in the 
manuscripts? What is their effect? Is the English Bible true 
to the originals? 

The Shorter Life of D. L. Moody .... 2 vols. $ .30 

Vol. I, his life; Vol. II, his work. Concise, readable, 
much in Mr. Moody's own words, with several private illus- 
trations. By Paul Dwight Moody and A. P. Fitt, with a chap- 
ter on "D. L. Moody as an Evangelist" by C. I. Scofield, D.D. 

FITT, Emma Moody 

The D. L. Moody Year Book $1.00 

The richest selections from Mr. Moody's addresses, ar- 
ranged with Scripture texts for every day in the year. 

HARVEY-JELLIE. Mrs. 

Into the Sunshine $1.00 

Thirty-three chapters, each tellmg in readable, story 
fashion how different folks — young and old, rich and poor. 
Christian workers and others — were helped "into the sunshine" 
of salvation, happiness, courage, service, etc. A unique vol- 
ume, as attractive as its title, evincing keen observation of 
character. 

BECKINGSALE, Jennie 

Pomegranate: The Story of a Chinese School Girl $1.00 

"Miss Beckingsale knows Chinese life, and depicts it with 
realism. " — Advertiser. 

COE. William W. 

Still, Still with Thee $ .10 

A sacred solo. Words by Harriet Beecher Stowe. 

MOODY, D. L. 

Notes From My Bible $ .30 

The "nuggets" and outlines from the margins and blank 
interleaves of D. L. Moody's numerous Bibles. The kind of 
material that made his addresses so sparkling and helpful. 
Have you a copy? 



JUN 35 ISIO 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





